Exhibition

La mer est ton miroir

Name: La mer est ton miroir
Start: 2026-06-20
End: 2026-11-01

20 Jun - 1 Nov 2026

Abbaye Saint-Germain, Auxerre

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Alongside the Les Grands Récits festival (5-7 June), which this year is devoted to the theme of the sea, Centre Pompidou has let down its anchor in the Abbaye Saint-Germain in Auxerre.

In a dialogue between the architecture and the art and history collections housed within, “The Sea Is Your Mirror” is a deep dive into the imagery of the marine world in the 20th and 21st centuries. With works by Robert Delaunay, Man Ray, Gilles Aillaud, Peter Doig, Shimabuku, Hicham Berrada, Nicolas Floc’h, Adel Abdessemed, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and more…

Mysterious, the sea is an endless source of inspiration for artists. Impossible to capture, it invites us to daydream. Calm or turbulent, it can carry us, resist us or submerge us. As suggested by the title, “The Sea Is Your Mirror”, taken from Charles Baudelaire’s poem Man And The Sea, gazing at the sea like a mirror is to meditate on our existence and understand the power of nature.
Whether drawing inspiration from fantastical sea creatures, bringing mermaids to life, imagining underwater life or denouncing the lack of respect for the ocean, these artists invite us to dive into magical, poetic worlds, while telling us their own stories.

In 2022, the City of Auxerre and Centre Pompidou formed a partnership to co-construct exhibitions using works of modern and contemporary art from the Centre Pompidou collection, presented in the Abbaye Saint-Germain-Cité de la Parole et du Son, a treasure of heritage for the city and site of encounters and creation.

Free admission subject to availability of seats

Where

Abbaye Saint-Germain, Auxerre

2bis place Saint-Germain
89000 Auxerre

When

20 Jun - 1 Nov 2026

10am - 12pm, every mondays, tuesdays, wednesdays, thursdays, fridays, saturdays, sundays
2pm - 6pm, every mondays, tuesdays, wednesdays, thursdays, fridays, saturdays, sundays