La Ruche

The Studio at La Ruche

Where History Meets Creation

Hidden behind a garden in the 15th arrondissement of Paris lies a place unlike any other: La Ruche, the historic artistic hive that continues to pulse with creative energy more than a century after its founding.

It is here, within this iconic sanctuary, that Michèle van de Roer creates her art, carrying on the legacy of some of the greatest artists of the 20th century.

A Living Legacy

Founded in 1902 by the sculptor Alfred Boucher, La Ruche (French for “The Beehive”) was born from a vision of community and artistic generosity. Using salvaged architectural treasures from the 1900 Exposition Universelle, including structures designed by Gustave Eiffel, Boucher created a circular phalanstery where artists of every background could live and work.

La Ruche welcomed an extraordinary wave of talent: Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, Ossip Zadkine, Diego Rivera, Amedeo Modigliani, and many more. It became a vital core of the École de Paris and a refuge for émigré artists fleeing turmoil, poverty, or persecution in Eastern Europe.

In the postwar years, it saw the birth of the Jeune Peinture movement, the rise of Narrative Figuration, and the continued evolution of modern art through mosaicists, sculptors, and experimental painters.

A Place to Create and Reflect

For Michèle van de Roer, working at La Ruche is both a privilege and a dialogue with history. Within her studio, light filters through century-old windows, brushing across sketches, inks, oil painting, acrylic, printmaking, gouaches and mixed media that explore themes of memory, architecture, and atmosphere.

To create in such a space is to feel the presence of generations past, not as ghosts, but as companions. The walls breathe with stories, and the air carries the quiet hum of shared intention. Every line and brush stroke is in conversation with the spirit of the place.

Here, Michèle offers more than her personal artistic output. Through online workshops, mentoring, and dialogue with other resident artists and visitors, she contributes to the continuous unfolding of La Ruche’s story.

A Studio Among Studios

Today, La Ruche remains home to a diverse community of international artists working in disciplines as varied as painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, writing, mosaic, and video art. In recent years, it has hosted creators from Germany, South Korea, Israel, Iraq, Italy, the United States, and beyond.

The spirit of exchange, experimentation, and shared inspiration still defines daily life here.

A Historic Site in Motion

Despite periods of threat and decay, La Ruche has endured thanks to the fierce advocacy of artists and patrons, including Marc Chagall, Sonia Delaunay, and André Malraux. In 1985, it became a public foundation: La Fondation La Ruche-Seydoux.

In 2024, following urgent structural restorations, the building was once again stabilized, safeguarding the creative lives within its walls. The Fondation continues to call for public support to maintain and preserve this essential place of artistic life.

The Studio as Invitation

To step into Michèle van de Roer’s studio is to step into a lineage of artistic resilience and imagination. Her creative space at La Ruche is not just a room with canvases, it is a sanctuary, a lens through which history and modernity meet, and a testament to the enduring power of art to build community across generations.