July 2025
Jean-Michel Othoniel Presents His Largest-Ever Solo Exhibition OTHONIEL COSMOS or the Ghosts of Love in Avignon, France
Jean-Michel Othoniel’s solo exhibition, OTHONIEL COSMOS or the Ghosts of Love, unfolds across the city of Avignon, France. This unprecedented project—his largest solo exhibition to date—features the artist’s poetic and symbolic sculptural language developed over the past thirty years, installed across ten venues in the city. Of the 260 works on view, 160 are being shown in France for the first time.
The exhibition is conceived in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Avignon’s designation as the European Capital of Culture and the 30th anniversary of its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Taking the city's historical and literary heritage as its starting point, the project activates Avignon’s cultural landmarks through contemporary art, proposing new forms of engagement with public space and suggesting novel possibilities for site-specific art. Rooted in the city’s unique identity—shaped by its 14th-century papal history—Othoniel’s artistic intervention weaves together classical and contemporary elements, spiritual symbolism, and material experimentation on an ambitious scale.
At the heart of the project is the Palais des Papes, where 133 works are displayed across 15 spaces, including 106 new works created specifically for this historic site. These include Les Constellations, a series of suspended mirror-glass and gold-leaf sculptures representing the twelve signs of the zodiac; COSMOS, monumental golden sculptures hung like a mobile from the ceiling; and La Fontaine des Délices, a fountain adorned with Murano glass and gilded bronze, and many others, placed throughout the palace.
Beyond the Palais des Papes, the exhibition extends to other major sites across the city, including the Pont d’Avignon, the Petit Palais – Louvre Museum, the Calvet Museum, the Requien Natural History Museum, and the Lapidary Museum. At each location, Othoniel’s works—ranging from sculpture and painting to installations crafted from glass and gold—transform the city into a vast operatic stage. OTHONIEL COSMOS or the Ghosts of Love is on view through January 4, 2026.