MO.CO
Located in the heart of the city, this former private mansion from the early 19th century has been transformed into an art center dedicated to international exhibitions. It is the main entity of Montpellier Contemporain, an artistic ecosystem grouping together two exhibition spaces and an art school.
Located in the heart of the city, this former private mansion from the early 19th century has been transformed into an art center dedicated to international exhibitions. It is the main entity of Montpellier Contemporain, an artistic ecosystem grouping together two exhibition spaces and an art school.
Programme
The dream of reason, Neo Rauch
Venue: MO.CO., 13 rue de la République, Montpellier
For his first retrospective in France, Neo Rauch, an artist born in 1960 in Leipzig in what was then the GDR, is showing over fifty works on canvas and as many drawings, retracing almost thirty years of generous and original production. Neo Rauch's figurative painting is unique and identifiable by its taste for a non-linear narrative, with multiple references that resemble dreamed scenes, anchored in a timeless reality.
Soleil Triste. SOL! La biennale du territoire #2
venue: MO.CO. Panacée, 14 rue de l’Ecole de Pharmacie, Montpellier
This autumn, MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain organizes the second edition of its biennial event. This year, it takes a historical figure, a literary work and a little-known episode in Montpellier's history as its starting points and common threads.
In 1776, the Marquis de Sade stayed in Montpellier. The event may seem anecdotal. Yet it was here that he is said to have met the woman who would inspire the heroine of his first novel: Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue. The impact of this text on culture, philosophy and ways of thinking remains indisputable.
Soleil Triste embraces the Sadian ethical and aesthetic order. Some twenty artists present drawings, paintings, sculptures, installations and videos. Like Sade, the body and language, two allies in the transgression of societal, moral and institutional norms, are at the heart of the work of the artists presented.
Une mouche est apparue, et disparut. Huma Bhabha
Venue: MO.CO., 13 rue de la République, Montpellier
Une mouche est apparue, et disparut is the first monographic exhibition in a French institution by artist Huma Bhabha. Born in 1962 in Karachi, Pakistan, and now based in Poughkeepsie, New York, Huma Bhabha combines eras, materials and iconic forms to create works that give rise to anthropomorphic and hybrid presences through addition, covering and cutting.
The figure, omnipresent in her work, always suggests an ambiguous otherness, distant or near, ancient or unborn. This exceptional artist draws on an infinite repertoire of references, borrowing from both the scholarly world and popular culture, from ancient statuary to science-fiction films, insisting on a universalism of form.
Exhibition in partnership with the M Leuven.
Access
MO.CO
13, rue de la République, 34000 Montpellier
Open from Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm (June - September) and 11am to 6pm (October - May)
MO.CO. Panacée
14, rue de l’École de Pharmacie, 34000 Montpellier
Open from Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm (June - September) and 11am to 6pm (October - May)
+33 (0)4 99 58 28 00
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WALKS
• Le Jardin des Plantes
• Musée et Conservatoire d’Anatomie
• La Halle Tropisme : an associative place where the Montpellier's culture and party combine. Bar and restaurant.
TO DISCOVER AT THE MO.CO
• MO.CO. Panacée : patio with a garden designed by Coloco.
• MO.CO. Hôtel des collections : site-specific artworks to discover, the garden designed by Bertrand Lavier, Jardin des sept continents (2019) and Les arrosoirs arrosés (2019) and Loris Gréaud’s artwork, Idle Mode (2019) in the bar-restaurant.
• MO.CO. Esba : in the schoolyards: artworks by Fabrice Hyber, Prééau (2019) and Bob & Roberta Smith, this is a freedom of Expression Centre (2019).
LESS THAN 60 KM
• FRAC Occitanie Montpellier
• Musée Fabre
• Pavillon Populaire
• Espace Saint-Ravy
• Mécènes du sud Montpellier-Sète
• Aperto
• Iconoscope
• AL/MA gallery
• La Jetée, art gallery and studio
• CRAC Occitanie (Sète)
• Musée International des Arts Modestes (Sète)
PLACES TO STAY
• Le Mas de la Feuillade : guest houses in the heart of a classified park.
• La Merci : guest houses with an indoor garden, very good value for money.
• Hôtel du Palais : in the heart of the district l’Écusson since 1870, very close to the famous Place de la Canourgue.
• Hôtel Oceania Le Métropole : just a step from the MO.CO, an iconic place built in 1898 in the style of the French Riviera’s prestigious palaces.
PLACES TO EAT
• Le Pastis : a first Michelin star in 2021. Come and enjoy the surprise menus of Daniel Lutrand and Jean-Philippe Vivant.
• Leclere : Guillaume Leclere enhances the products, the season, the nature. A must-go.
• Faune : a creative and modern Provençal bistronomy with foreign influences.
• Mikado : japanese Chef Takétomo Lulu Sumi (ex-Ito Chan) cooks “the best ramen in France” according to Le Fooding.
• Rosemarie : mediterranean cuisine and cocktail bar with a big terrace, in the historic centre.
• Ikonka : salads, pies, super fresh and non-classical unique dish. A wide variety of pastries.
• Zaatar : the best falafel in the region!
• Äponem, l’auberge du presbytère : a gastronomic journey inspired by the Hérault’s wilderness, signed by Chef Amélie Darvas and sommelier Gaby Benicio. (Vailhan)
HAVE A DRINK
• Café de la Panacée : restaurant for lunchtime, you can come have a drink all day long and enjoy tapas in the evening in the pleasant and vast courtyard.
• Panka : come and enjoy regional products, natural wines and seafood tapas.
• Les Garçons : a lively bar-tapas-wine cellar downtown.
• Le Parfum : you will find the best cocktails in the city.
• Le Poisson Rouge : a former house of oyster farmers with a breathtaking view, offering a simple and tasty cuisine inspired by the sea. (Frontignan)
• La plage Bonaventure (Palavas-les-Flots)
