Othoniel Cosmos or The ghosts of love : Avignon

Résumé

To mark the 25th anniversary of its designation as a European Capital of Culture and its 30th year as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the City of Avignon commissioned Jean-Michel Othoniel to create an exhibition that would highlight the unique power of its iconic sites.

The exhibition « OTHONIEL COSMOS or the Ghosts of Love » (28 June 2025-4 January 2026), the first of its kind in France, is an artistic constellation spanning ten exceptional sites : the Palais des Papes, the Place du Palais, the Pont d'Avignon, the Musée Calvet, the Muséum Requien, the Musée Lapidaire, the Musée du Petit Palais-Louvre en Avignon, the Chapel of Saint Clare, the Collection Lambert and the new Musée des Bains Pommer.

Avignon, the city of popes, is also the city of lovers. It was here, on 6 April 1327, that the poet Petrarch fell instantly in love with Laura, a beautiful married woman, after catching sight of her. This unrequited love gave rise to a collection of passionate sonnets that paved the way for modern poetry. These poems resonated powerfully with Othoniel, who identified with the Italian poet overcome with desire.

The artist conceived this star-crossed exhibition as an epic archipelago of love, centred on the Palais des Papes as its mysterious island.

By turns monumental and discreet, the 260 or so works, most of which have never before been exhibited, include paintings and sculptures and feature creations in gold or glass. They form a trail that enables viewers to see ten key sites around the city with a fresh eye.

This treasure hunt dedicated to love is the artist's biggest ever personal project. Assembled like a vast operatic machine, it takes the form of a series of gigantic sonnets made up of knots and mirrors, of tombs and precious stones, of fantasies and phantoms.