The Monaco Masters Show

The Opera Gallery will be celebrating its 25th anniversary alongside the Monaco Masters Show this year. Over the past decade, this signature artistic event of the Principality’s cultural scene has become a summer tradition for contemporary and modern art lovers. The Masters will be unveiled on 4th July during the opening reception and will remain open and accessible to the public throughout the rest of July and August.

Simon Hantaï, Blancs, 1973 Oil on canvas 212 x 220 cm

Under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, this exhibition presents high quality artworks retracing the main artistic trends of the 20th century, into contemporary art practice. Opera Gallery Monaco has partnered yet again with the Monegasque association Mission Enfance, and commits to sharing a percentage of the income from this event with the association.

Modern art takes pride of place with paintings by masters such as Raoul Dufy, Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró and others. A selection of Chagall’s works depicting several of his signature themes such as weddings and the circus rub shoulders with several works of Picasso focusing on the Spanish master’s output in the 1960s. These will be curated alongside the most renowned names of the Post-War period, such as Alexander Calder, Lucio Fontana, Jean Dubuffet, Hans Hartung or Pierre Soulages. A sculpture Dubuffet will be exhibited in addition to a Calder mobile. Soulages, who turns 100 years old this year, features in the selection with several works spanning his career.

Fernand Léger, Étude pour les constructeurs, circa 1951 – 1952 Gouache, colour crayon, brush, ink and pencil on paper 54.5 x 71.5 cm

American pop art will also be represented with original works by Andy Warhol and Tom Wesselmann, with the added opportunity to discover canvases and original works on paper by Keith Haring, one of the pioneers of American street art.

Abstraction expressionism always has its place in the Masters Show, and this year the focus is gestural works from Georges Mathieu, Sam Francis, Kazuo Shiraga as well as a large Simon Hantaï pliage.

In addition, Opera Gallery will be showcasing Manolo Valdés’ sculptural and pictorial works, and the famous cavalcades by the 90-year-old French painter André Brasilier; two artists who are now included in the permanent collections of many of the most prestigious international museums.

Pablo Picasso, Nu assis appuyé sur des coussins, 19 December 1964, oil on canvas 54 x 65 cm

Opera Gallery confirms its reputation as a discoverer of new talent by faithfully supporting artists such as Andy Denzler, Marcello Lo Giudice, David Kim Whittaker, James Austin Murray, Cho Sung-Hee and Tigran Tsitoghdzyan. It is always exciting to see this curated selection not only for invigorating novelty but also to see what they have achieved from year to year.

A printed catalogue will be available at the gallery.