“Stardust” by internationally renowned sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel

Open since January 31, the major contemporary art center La Malmaison, located in the heart of La Croisette in Cannes, is hosting the exhibition "Stardust" by internationally renowned sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel from May 17, 2025 to January 4, 2026. On this occasion, Jean-Michel Othoniel will offer a fascinating immersion into his world where glass and light intertwine to create a unique immersive and sensory experience. Among the 91 pieces presented, 53 were specifically designed for La Malmaison, in keeping with its exceptional environment and history. These works invite you to dream and thus echo the inexhaustible light of the Mediterranean sun, the glitter of the Cannes International Film Festival, and the azure blue of the sea and sky of Cannes. The opening of the exhibition took place on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the presence of David Lisnard and Jean-Michel Othoniel.

A FAIRY WORLD, FILLED WITH GLASS AND LIGHT

The Stardust exhibition promises total immersion in a marvelous universe in the heart of Malmaison, where the colors of the Cannes Film Festival and the Mediterranean merge. Composed of monumental glass sculptures and paintings, Jean-Michel Othoniel's 91 works poetically infuse the space. The artist tells a magical story, filled with dreams and light, to immerse visitors in the magic and history of Malmaison, the oldest residence on the Croisette. Fifty-three new works were specifically designed for the recently modernized site.

Some rooms are adorned with gold thanks to the Gold Rose, the Gold Lotus, and the brilliant powder pink river that connects with the Passiflora hanging on the walls. These flowers, symbols of passion and the sun, illuminate the rooms of the art center. These sparkling colors echo the glitter of the Cannes International Festival, the blazing sun of the summers of the South, the luminous beaches of the coast, or the brilliant yellow of the mimosa in winter. Other rooms blend into the exceptional panorama of the Malmaison. Endless expanses of blue water, in the form of reflective glass bricks, spread across the floors and change with the light. The artist did not limit himself to re-enchanting the interior of the art center. Three large sculptures enhance the exterior. With the magic of materials, the infinite play of light, and the multiplication of reflections, Jean-Michel Othoniel erases the boundaries between reality and imagination.

JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL, “STARDUST” EXHIBITION FROM MAY 17, 2025 TO JANUARY 4, 2026

Jean-Michel Othoniel's exhibition at Malmaison unfolds like a poetic journey across each of the building's levels. On the ground floor, the artist evokes the spirit of Cannes, from the glitter of the film festival to the bright sunshine of summer afternoons. The gold of the sculptures evokes a lost paradise, a wonder to be rediscovered. The deliberately pared-down space highlights the monumentality and delicacy of the pieces.

On the first floor, the atmosphere becomes more meditative. The murmur of the fountains reinforces the sensory aspect of the visit, and certain suspended works evoke silence, reverie, and reflection. Here, Jean-Michel Othoniel celebrates the Mediterranean and the Côte d'Azur through works evoking marine reflections. The sculptures interact with the natural light and resonate with the landscape through the windows.

On the upper floor, visitors discover the artist's latest research, which, like fragments of a story, reactivate childhood memories, a rediscovered magic, and evoke a collective memory, somewhere between illusion and melancholy. The ensemble opens a parenthesis outside of time, inviting visitors to leave Malmaison transformed.

ABOUT JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL

Since the 1990s, Jean-Michel Othoniel has developed a singular and instantly recognizable body of work, somewhere between poetry and monumentality. Through sculptures, installations, and paintings, he works with highly symbolic materials—blown glass, polished stainless steel, gold leaf—to create sensual and enigmatic forms found in museums and public spaces.

In 2000, he created Le Kiosque des Noctambules, an iconic work installed at the entrance to the Palais-Royal metro station in Paris, marking the beginning of his interventions in urban spaces. Numerous public commissions around the world followed. In 2014, he was invited to create Les Belles Danses, a series of three gilded glass fountains for a grove at the Château de Versailles, a first since Louis XIV. In 2018, he inaugurated La Fontaine des cœurs renversés in Nice, a monumental glass bead sculpture installed in the heart of the city, on the Promenade du Paillon.

His works are exhibited in the greatest international institutions: Centre Pompidou (1995, 2011), Brooklyn Museum (2012), Musée du Louvre (2015), Hara Museum in Tokyo (2006), Leeum Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul (2015). In 2021, the Petit Palais is dedicating a major exhibition to him entitled The Narcissus Theorem.

In 2025, Jean-Michel Othoniel presents two other exhibitions “Othoniel, the Enchantment” at the Long Museum in Shanghai (April 26 – September 7, 2025) and “OTHONIEL COSMOS or The Ghosts of Love” in Avignon (June 28, 2025 – January 4, 2026).

His work explores notions of beauty, transformation, and passage. Through his "emotional architectures," Jean-Michel Othoniel creates refuges, places of light and silence, which permanently transform the spaces they inhabit.

Useful information

La Malmaison , 47 boulevard de la Croisette - 06400 Cannes