Top Seller

Galerie BAYART

Paris, France

Artsper seller since 2013 • Top Seller 195 orders finalized

Contemporary Mythologies - Christophe Charbonnel

Antibes From June 26, 2026 to September 27, 2026

Presentation

In Antibes, between the 16th-century ramparts and the open horizon of the Mediterranean, Christophe Charbonnel's exhibition, Contemporary Mythologies, engages in a powerful dialogue between past and present, stone and bronze, memory and imagination.

The exhibition unfolds along the coastline, from the vicinity of Port Vauban to the main thoroughfares bordering the sea, the Promenade Amiral de Grasse and the Boulevard du Général Leclerc. Two sculptures also punctuate the Les Arcades exhibition space, creating a natural link between the urban space and the exhibition venue. In this environment where the city opens onto the sea, the artworks interact with the Mediterranean light and the defensive lines inherited from Antibes' history.

For his first major exhibition in the city, the artist engages with both the public space and the Les Arcades cultural center. In the urban space, a collection of eleven monumental sculptures punctuates the route like so many archaic presences, emerging from a suspended time. Installed in rhythm with the pedestrian flow and the seafront, they guide the eye, poised between earthly grounding and an openness to the sea.

In contrast, the Espace culturel des Arcades, a former 18th-century military building converted into an exhibition space, houses a collection that begins with intimate pieces, where the gaze becomes close, attentive to the smallest detail, before leading the visitor to semi-monumental works. These works unfold on a different, more focused scale, conducive to intimate observation and the experience of detail. Within this unfolding, a rich selection of sculptures—heroic figures, mythical creatures, powerful fragments, biblical figures, and futuristic visions—extends the immersive experience. Mythology engages in a dialogue with science fiction, revealing a timeless humanity in perpetual transformation.

Trained in drawing and modeling, notably at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Christophe Charbonnel retains from this experience a mastery of movement and visual storytelling. Influenced by the Italian Renaissance, the 19th century, and the legacy of Auguste Rodin, he has developed a unique sculptural style, where anatomical power blends with the unfinished. His often fragmentary works seem to emerge from imaginary archaeological digs, bearing the marks of time and inviting the viewer to mentally reconstruct them.

In this Mediterranean setting, the sculptures resonate with the history of Antibes, a city of sailors, fortifications, and passageways. Facing the sea, figures like Poseidon and Perseus return to their original element. The bronze captures the light and echoes the ancient stones of the ramparts. The exhibition thus becomes a living territory, where ancient myths and futuristic visions intersect, as if the heroes of yesterday were already observing the world of tomorrow.

“Mythology speaks of us,” the artist states. In Charbonnel’s work, it becomes a universal language, capable of transcending eras to question our contemporary condition, poised between strength and fragility, memory and becoming.

Contemporary Mythologies thus invites the visitor to a sensory and immersive experience, a journey through time, where each sculpture acts as a fragment of history to be pieced together, an open narrative that each person is free to inhabit.

Address

Details

Centre Ville & Espace d'exposition
06600, Antibes
France

Artworks Artists

Recommended by Artsper

Christophe Charbonnel

France

Recent searches

Popular searches

Visual Search

Artsper gift card

Ideas to explore

Bronze Sculpture for Sale

Watercolor Drawing

Abstract Painting for Sale

Street Art Print

Portrait Painting for Sale

Black and White Photography

Landscape Painting

Street Art Sculpture for Sale

Suggestions

Artworks

Artists

Featured Artists

Shepard Fairey (Obey)

Richard Orlinski

Takashi Murakami

Keith Haring

JR

Andy Warhol

Henri Matisse

Pablo Picasso

Alexander Calder

René Magritte