Cactus

Exhibition Catalogue CACTUS, presented at the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (6 july 2025 - 11 january 2026).

Native to the ‘torrid zone’ of our planet and indicators of an arid climate, cacti are ideal subjects through which to understand the gradual spread of tropical flora in the West, carried by expeditions, explorers, and the horticultural boom of the 19th century. 

With their singular, sometimes disquieting aesthetics, these plants shake up our representation of the plant world. They are studied, collected, and are at the origin of some of the most remarkable gardens on the Riviera.

They have most of all captivated numerous artists and inspired works as diverse as an Eisenstein film, a drawing on iPad by David Hockney, and a Gufram coat rack. CACTUS offers an overview of their history and diversity from both botanical and artistic angles.

With Kaïs Aïouch & Chahine Fellahi, Ghada Amer, Ziad Antar, Aurel Bauh, Max Beckmann, Katinka Bock, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Constantin Brancusi, Brassaï, Maurizio Cattelan & Pierpaolo Ferrari, Philippe Chancel, Julian Charrière, Ali Cherri, Étienne Clerissi, Barbara Crane, Martin Creed, Léon Diguet, Robert Doisneau, Guido Drocco & Franco Mello avec Paul Smith, Latifa Echakhch, Sergueï Eisenstein, Ger van Elk, Emeric Feher, Alain Fleischer, Henri Foucault, Jean-François Fourtou, Michel François, Francesca Gabbiani & Eddie Ruscha, Maurizio Galante & Tal Lancman, Flor Garduño, Chris Garofalo, Lina Ghotmeh, Domenico Gnoli, Julio González, Florence Henri, Nathanaëlle Herbelin, David Hockney, Larry Jordan, Florentine et Alexandre Lamarche-Ovize, René Lalique, Romain Laprade, Fernand Léger, Jochen Lempert, Eli Lotar, Man Ray, Hilton McConnico, Mathurin Méheut, Cristina de Middel, Richard Laurence Misrach, Serge Mouille, Stéphane Passet, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Bernard Plossu, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Ed Ruscha, Yann Sérandour, Shimabuku, Louis de Sigaldi, Philippe Starck, Simon Starling, Johannes Steidl, André Steiner, Wolfgang Tillmans, Henri Tracol, Oriol Vilanova, Yannick Vu, Ossip Zadkine, Ding Zhang, Willy Zielke…