Artsy hot summer in the Principality
This morning I joined other colleagues in the media on an exclusive private visit of the Monaco Art Week, a captivating new artistic itinerary in the Principality from July 12-17, 2022. It is true that it is rather hot out there, but the galleries are air-conditioned!
This cultural event is part of a luscious cultural calendar during the estival season, benefiting from the dynamism of the artmonte-carlo fair, as well as the numerous summer exhibitions on the French Riviera.
About Monaco Art Week
MAW is organised by the Monaco Art Week Association, created in 2018 in order to reunite the cultural players in the Principality, through common diffusion and an artistic journey. Members of the association’s board: Louise Gréther (Artcurial Monaco), President; Fabrizio Moretti (Moretti Fine Arts), Vice-President; Caroline Davaripour Jelmoni (Kamil Art Gallery), Secretary; Sabine Steiner-Toesca, Treasurer. Placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Monaco Art Week is supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Monaco.
Monaco Art Week is sponsored by CMB Monaco, Mari Transports Monaco and Generali Mourenon & Giannotti.
An enticing & distinctive art itineray
Monaco Art Week offers the opportunity to discover the various exhibitions organised by the participating galleries and auction houses through the districts of Monte-Carlo, Larvotto and La Condamine.
Monte-Carlo
Located in the center of the route, the Monte-Carlo district hosts many exhibitions. Galerie Adriano Ribolzi presents unpublished sculpture works of century-old olive trees by the Uruguayan artist Pablo Atchugarry. Next door, sculpture is also spotlighted at M.F. Toninelli Modern Art (by appointment), through a collection of works by renowned modern artists, such as Hans Arp and Constantin Brâncusi.
A few meters away, around fifty paintings by masters such as Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger and Pablo Picasso, and by exceptional contemporary artists, such as Yayoi Kusama, Fernando Botero and Manolo Valdés, are brought together in the Monaco Masters Show exhibition at Opera Gallery. (Photo credits: Celina Lafuente de Lavotha)
In the corner of the street, the auction house Sotheby’s, announcing this summer the permanent installation of its space in the Principality, offers a large selection of works, from private collections, by artists Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, alongside an exclusive selection of jewelry, handbags and luxury watches. (Photo credits: Celina Lafuente de Lavotha)
On the same avenue, the Moretti Fine Art gallery presents a magnificent 19th century marble sculpture, Ninfa, created by the Ligurian artist Santo Varni.
In the gardens and in the heart of the Hôtel Hermitage and Hôtel de Paris, visitors will come across an impressive selection of modern and contemporary sculptures, from the Monaco Sculptures sale by Artcurial, in partnership with Monte-Carlo SBM. These works will find new owners at the end of July auction. The Hôtel de Paris will also enable visitors to discover the high jewelry house Boghossian, which celebrates the dialogue of cultures. Bold creations in diamonds and precious stones benefit for the occasion of a space designed by the Danish KufStudios, integrating the lacquered shelves of the Lebanese designer Nada Debs.
Larvotto
Along Larvotto, Monaco Modern Art welcomes Christie’s Auction House for the first time with the exhibition The Great Indoors, including modern masters such as Pablo Picasso and contemporary artists such as Hilary Pecis and Shara Hughes. The exhibition explores the central role that the interior has played in the history of art, creating a captivating conversation through works that span this century.
A few meters away, the Bel’Air Fine Art gallery is also participating for the first time, with an exhibition dedicated to the French ecologist photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
Approaching the Grimaldi Forum, the Kamil Art Gallery presents paintings from the Apocalypse collection by Franco-German artist Eric Massholder. An acid vision of the future, tinged with irreverent humor, which is accompanied by an innovative project combining the world of fine arts and digital art, in collaboration with SmartVerum.
On the same avenue G&M Gallery devotes its exhibition to the work of the talented English artist Adam Bricusse. I found this exposition fascinating and oneiric, specially the colorful and freedom-inspiring butterflies, and the almost real ice-cream cones were mouth watering! Not to be missed! (Photo credits: Celina Lafuente de Lavotha, and Alice Bensi)
Condamine / Port Hercule
In the Condamine district, the NM Contemporary gallery presents a personal exhibition of recent and historical works by the Italian painter Paolo Masi, in collaboration with the Frittelli Arte Contemporanea gallery, Florence. A few meters away, the magnificent Monegasque villa of LenzWerk Monaco offers a unique experience of architecture, design and art. For the occasion, it will host a dialogue between the abstract works of Günther Förg and the figurative work of Jean Dubuffet, presented by Galerie Bastian. (Photo credits: Celina Lafuente de Lavotha)
In the same district, the private collection Musée Collection des Arts (by invitation) will allow you to discover for the first time magnificent objects of vertu from the collection of David and Mikhail Iakobachvili, in an exhibition reminiscent of the most intimate art of Josephine & Napoleon. Members of the Media were treated to a delightful lunch on the immense terrace overlooking Port Hercules. Photo credits: Celina lafuente de Lavotha)
Continuing to the quays of Port Hercule, the National Monegasque Committee for the Visual Arts AIAP-UNESCO receives contemporary Polish artists presented by Art-Box. Store.
Listening to current trends, Musée Collection des Arts, CADAF, Magdalena M. Gabriel and MetaVRse, will organize “The Web 3.0: Art Talks” – an insider’s look at collecting, exhibiting and investing in digital art and NFT (by invitation only).
Monaco Art Week 2022 participants
Artcurial; Bel-Air Fine Art; Boghossian Christie’s; Comité National Monégasque de l’A.I.A.P. auprès de l’U.N.E.S.C.O., Art-Box.store; G&M Design; Hauser & Wirth; Kamil Art Gallery, SmartVerum; Lenzwerk Monaco, Galerie Bastian; Moretti Fine Art; Musée Collection des Arts, CADAF, Magdalena M. Gabriel, MetaVRse; Nm Contemporary; M F Toninelli Art Moderne; Opera Gallery; Galerie Adriano Ribolzi; Sotheby’s.
Today’s Quote
A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light. Leonardo da Vinci
Monaco Reporter 