Today's art cannot ignore sport, the backdrop to our contemporary societies. At the behest of the Frac Sud - Cité de l'art contemporain and at the invitation of its director Muriel Enjalran, curator and art critic Jean-Marc Huitorel has devised an exhibition in three leading cultural institutions in the Southern Region and the City of Marseille.

"Des exploits, des chefs-d'œuvre" (exploits and masterpieces) examines the relationship between art and sport through more than 200 works by nearly 100 French and foreign artists, combining fascination, criticism, and humour.

In the run-up to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with Marseilles a host city, these questions about the relationship between art and sport are highly topical and should be addressed with every tool available. The aim is not to add an extra touch of soul or some sort of decorative endorsement to the upcoming sporting competitions, but rather to seize this opportunity to try and question the nature and occurrences of such events through the use of a number of symbolic objects, each of which, in its own way, provides a way of reading them.

The aim is not to demonstrate anything  in particular, but to offer an event that is both a source of reflection and a way of questioning certain expectations, as well as an object of delight and an occasion for pleasure.

The Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, the Frac Sud's main partner, and the Ministry of Culture, co-financier, and guarantor of its label, have joined forces with the City of Marseilles to propose this major artistic and cultural project, at the heart of the Cultural Olympiad.

Awarded the Paris 2024 label, it is one of the flagship projects of the Cultural Olympiad in France, and the only one on this scale in the field of contemporary art.

There are myriad ways of approaching the relationship between art and sport, on the understanding that, although both are capable of producing beauty, sport is not art and art is not sport. For "Des exploits, des chefs-d'œuvre", the project’s generic title, three entries are proposed that are as flexible and porous as possible, corresponding to the three exhibition venues.

These three generous sections showcase works from French and foreign public collections and brand new productions. They bring together artists from different generations in a highly original way, with some works presented in France for the first time. At the Mucem, works of the guest artists will interact with exceptional sporting objects from the museum's own collection and the Musée National du Sport in Nice.

General Curators:

Jean-Marc Huitorel, General Curator
Muriel Enjalran, Associate General Curator

Mucem - Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisation
Fort Saint-Jean - Georges Henri Rivière Building

« Trophées et reliques »

(Trophies and relics)

The artists:

At the Mucem:

Daniel Arsham, Neal Beggs, Julien Beneyton, Guillaume Bijl, Lilian Bourgeat, Roderick Buchanan, Johanna Cartier, Gérard Deschamps, documentation Céline duval, Lorraine Féline, Aurélie Ferruel et Florentine Guédon, Bella Hunt & Ddc, Fabrice Hyber, Jacques Julien, Jeremy John Kaplan, Jérémy Laffon, Fatima Mazmouz, Bruno Peinado, Laurent Perbos, Présence Panchounette, Antoine Proux, Pascal Rivet, Éléonore Saintagnan, Yoan Sorin, Barthélémy Toguo, Thomas Tudoux, Salla Tykkä and numerous objects drawn mainly from the collections of the Mucem and the MNS (Musée National du Sport, Nice).

Curators: Jean-Marc Huitorel, Jean-Fabien Philippy

Set design: Studio Bloomer, Laure Dezeuze
Graphic design: Miriam Betoux

Frac Sud - Cité de l'art contemporain

« L’heure de gloire »

From 26 April to 22 December 2024

(The hour of glory)

Curators: Jean-Marc Huitorel, Muriel Enjalran

The artists:

Louka Anargyros, Noel W. Anderson, Bianca Argimon, Jean Bedez, Berdaguer & Péjus, Julia Borderie, Marie Bovo, Elina Brotherus, Roderick Buchanan, Johanna Cartier, Lieven De Boeck, Gérard Deschamps, Marianne Dupain, Fédération Française d'Art, Jean- Baptiste Ganne, gethan&myles, Estelle Hanania, Lea Guldditte Hesterlund, Camille Holtz, Taro Izumi, Zuzanna Janin, Jacques Julien, Jeremy John Kaplan, Stéphane Le Mercier, Camille Llobet, Fiona McMonagle, Gilles Mahé, Éric Maillet, Laurent Perbos, Delphine Reist, Alexandra Riss, Chloé Serre, Yoan Sorin, Hank Willis Thomas, Olivier Tourenc, Sarah Trouche, Thomas Wattebled, as well as a selection of Olympic posters by artists Tracey Emin, Anthea Hamilton, Chris Ofili, Sarah Morris, Bob & Roberta Smith and Rachel Whitaker. Roberta Smith and Rachel Whiteread from the British Council collection.

[mac] - Musée d'art contemporain de Marseille (Marseille Museum of Contemporary Art)

« Tableaux d'une exposition » (Paintings from an exhibition)

From 26 April to 8 September 2024

Curators: Jean-Marc Huitorel, Stéphanie Airaud

The artists:

Mariam Abouzid-Souali, Adam Adach, Noel W. Anderson, Christian Babou, Jean Bedez, Julien Beneyton, Guillaume Bresson, Johanna Cartier, Nina Childress, Raoul De Keyser, Barry Flanagan, Jef Geys, Pierre Gonnord, Jacques Julien, Frédéric Lefever, Guillaume Pinard, Antonio Recalcati, Stefan Rinck, Pascal Rivet, Alain Séchas, Jérémie Setton, Susanne Strassmann, Maryline Terrier, Yves Trémorin.

 
With the support of

This exhibition is supported by the British Council

This exhibition is supported by the British Council

In partnership with