At Villa Carmignac, nestled between the pine trees and the sea, a sunny, sensual and dreamy Pop Art unfolds, which, to this day, continues to radiate its electric energy.
From 25 April to 1 November 2026.
Through a selection of paintings, sculptures, photographs and videos, the exhibition revives a certain spirit: that of a world focused on a radiant joie de vivre, aware of its contradictions, yet always driven by the same desire for freedom.
Bringing together over 80 works – including 15 from the Carmignac collection – Sea, Pop & Sun, curated by art historians Dieter Buchhart and Anna Karina Hofbauer, brings together Pop Art icons such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Marjorie Strider, Evelyne Axell and Martial Raysse, with contemporary artists who extend or question this movement, such as Théo Mercier, Derrick Adams, Cosima von Bonin and Judy Chicago.
With a name inspired by the provocative title of Serge Gainsbourg’s hit song, the exhibition transports us into the fantasy of a seaside getaway, at a time when the sexual revolution was upending conventions, when social mores were changing, and when anything seemed possible. The south of France and its beaches were then not merely holiday images, but escapes towards horizons of freedom and transgression.
Here, far from the cities, amidst the light, colours and scents of the Mediterranean, Pop Art reveals new facets. It no longer draws on everyday objects or urban advertisements, but on motifs from another dimension: the sky, the sea, the sun and holidays. Whilst celebrating their integration into consumer society, Pop Art also draws from these landscapes and summer scenes a new, sometimes even cosmic, sensuality and intensity.
Behind the exaltation championed by the pioneers of Pop Art, as well as by those who draw inspiration from it today, lies the awareness of a fleeting paradise, with all its artifice and disillusionment. Unrestrained hedonism – particularly in holiday destinations now overcrowded and weakened by overconsumption – is facing up to its consequences and no longer has quite the same appeal.
Photos: Nicolas Brasseur
Contact Villa Carmignac:
Tel.: 04.65.65.25.50
reservation@villacarmignac.com
https://billetterie.villa-carmignac.com/fr-FR/accueil-billetterie
Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.
