Amandine Guruceaga explores fire as destructive and regenerative through burned textiles, oxidized metals, and seed-like sculptures in dialogue with the Jardin des Méditerranées.

Amandine Guruceaga’s practice combines vital energy with ecological sensitivity: recycled materials, surgical interventions on matter, painterly gestures, and ancestral techniques coexist to create a universe where attention to the Earth and to living beings lies at the heart of the work.

The Var region takes centre stage in this group exhibition, which explores the influence of this territory on artistic creation from the late 19th century to the present day. Its landscapes, light and colours have profoundly shaped the history of modern art, inspiring major figures such as Henri-Edmond Cross, Maximilien Luce, Henri Manguin, Louis Valtat, Charles Camoin and Théo Van Rysselberghe.

Through a dialogue between heritage and contemporary creation, the exhibition also brings together works by Bernard Buffet, Patrice Giorda, Bertrand de Miollis, Pascale Hemery, Serge Plagnol, Olivier Lavorel, Solange Triger, Marie Astoin, Jean-Pierre Maltèse and Caroline Vicquenault.

From the Var hinterland to the Mediterranean coastline, this journey highlights the enduring vitality of a creative impulse constantly renewed, at the crossroads of regional identity, art history and the singular trajectories of the artists who have found lasting inspiration here.

A major retrospective is dedicated to Bruno Barbey, highlighting his work during the second half of the 20th century with more than 200 prints.

Bruno Barbey holds a major place in the history of humanist photography and international photojournalism. A member of Magnum Photos since 1966, he travelled the world for more than fifty years, documenting the political, social, and cultural upheavals of his time. Very early on, he embraced colour as a language in its own right, subtly revealing the atmospheres, tensions, and poetry of reality.

Venue: Fort de Sainte-Agathe, île de Porquerolles.

Drawing on the story of Agatha of Sicily, who was a protector against earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and fires, Julian Charrière invites us to take a meditative dive into the bowels of the earth.

The exhibition retraces the journey of a free-spirited painter moving through a 19th century in full transformation. From foundational landscapes to springs and rivers, from the animal world to seascapes, and from portraits to biting caricatures, it reveals the full breadth of Courbet’s universe. It highlights an artist who bestowed dignity and monumentality upon workers, peasants and craftsmen. His involvement in the Paris Commune, the Vendôme Column affair and his subsequent exile in Switzerland underscore his political dimension. Through his direct, modern gaze on reality, Courbet overturned academic conventions and paved the way for artistic modernity.

In partnership with the Institut Gustave Courbet, Ornans.