Exhibitions
A double perspective, artistic and botanical, with Cactus in Monaco
A fusion of botanical perspective and artistic interpretation, featuring over 200 works, from cacti and antique plans and drawings to sculptures, photographs, and film clips from Eisenstein, design with Gufram, and David Hockney, along with his contemporary works. Cactus is on display at the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco from July 5 to January 11, 2026, curated by Marc Jeanson and Laurent Le Bon, with stage design by Jasmin Oezcebi.
This spectacular tour, in collaboration with the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech, is enhanced by the outdoor cactus garden created in collaboration with the Exotic Garden of Monaco. At the Villa Sauber, you can interact with simple, fractal, dull, bright, spiny, extravagant, and fleshy forms.
Works by Jean-François Fourtou. ©Communication Department-Manuel Vitali.
Cacti are an ideal object of study for understanding the progressive spread of the abundance of tropical flora in the West through expeditions, explorations, and the explosion of horticulture in the 19th century. This aesthetic fascinated many artists, especially those looking at the early 20th century and particularly the interwar period.
These succulent plants are as intriguing as they are fascinating, thanks to their unique shapes, their thorny or velvety textures, and their muted or vibrant colors. Symbols of resilience and adaptation, they reached the West through great scientific expeditions and the rise of horticulture in the 19th century.
The exhibition in Monaco offers a perfect overview of cacti that dialogues with multiple artistic formats. Among the most notable artists in the temporary exhibition are Max Beckman, Constantin Brancusi, Brassaï, Robert Doisneau, Henri Focault, Julio González, Fernand Léger, Michalengo Pistoletto, Oriol Vilanova and Zhang Ding.
