The Musée d'art moderne et d'art contemporain, also known as MAMAC, is a museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art and It opened on 21 June 1990.
The Museum is located near the Place Garibaldi. Featuring work from the 1960's and '70's to the present time, it highlights and looks at the connections between New European Realism and American Pop Art. The architects Yves Bayard and Henri Vidal proposed a very original tetrapod arch with one part on the Paillon side and the other on the axe of the old National 7, between the harbor and the old city with districts developed during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The monumental project developed to cross the Paillon allows connection through a terrace, called the Promenade des Arts, from the Museum to the Theater. With its square plan, the architecture of the building is inspired by neo-classicism rules.
The available area is approximately 4,500 m2, distributed over ten showrooms. The facades are covered with white Carrara marble. The terraces are considered panorama points from where people can have a wonderful overview of the town. In one of these, it is presented "Le Mur de Feu" d'Yves Klein.
The olive trees nearby give to the city center the feeling of order and peace of the Mediterranean nature. The "Paillon Couverture" in the center of the city, connects the museum to the theatre on a side and on the other, to the Palais des Congres, which form an ensemble called "Promenade des Arts". The entrance and the shop are located at the level of the esplanade Niki de Saint Phalle, which overlooks the Place Yves Klein.
The gallery spaces are devoted to temporary exhibitions on the first floor, and the permanent collections are on the second and third floors. The signing, in 1999, of a long-term contract with Niki de Saint Phalle had as a consequence the installation on the esplanade of two monumental sculptures : Le Monstre du Loch Ness (1993) and Les Baigneurs (1983). Moreover another monumental sculpture from the American Jonathan Borovsky : L'homme à la valise (1987-1988).
Collections
The collections present an overview of the artistic creations considered as avant-garde, from the late 1950s to today, which belong to different movements:
The European New Realists with Arman, Yves Klein, and Martial Raysse, alongside César Baldaccini, Christo, Niki de Saint Phalle, Mimmo Rotella, François Dufrêne, Jean Tinguely, Gérard Deschamps, Daniel Spoerri, Raymond Hains, and Jacques Villeglé.
American Pop art is represented by a collection of works by Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana, Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg, Tom Wesselmann, and neo-Dadaist assemblages of Rauschenberg .
The School of Nice: Sacha Sosno, Robert Malaval, and Ben Vautier is close to several representative works of Fluxus
The Arte Povera includes artists such as Pier Paolo Calzolari, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Enrica Borghi, and Jan Fabre .
Supports and Surfaces are represented through Noel Dolla, Marcel Alocco, André-Pierre Arnal, Louis Cane, Daniel Dezeuze, Vincent Bouliès, Marcel Devade, Christian Jaccard, Claude Pagès, and Bernard Viallat.
The American minimalism and color field is shown with Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Ellsworth Kelly, Larry Poons, and Frank Stella.
Donations and deposits
Since the opening, Yves Klein has a room which displays approximately twenty of his works, several of them belonging to the permanent collection of the museum. In October 2001, Niki de Saint Phalle bequeathed a large part of her collection to the city of Nice for the museum. The donation consists of 170 works including 63 paintings and sculptures, 18 prints, 40 lithographs, serigraphs, and 54 many original documents. In 2004, artist Albert Chubac gave a hundred works to the Museum. In 2010, the collector Khalil Nahoul offered 94 art pieces (paintings, drawings, prints).
The Museum hosts many temporary exhibitions.
Access
Price : €10
Also accessible with this ticket for 48hrs : Théâtre de la Photographie et de l'Image - Espace Ferrero - Galeries de la Marine et des Ponchettes.
7-day ticket : €20
Access to all municipal museums and galleries for 7 days
Free admission :
- Children under age 18 (proof required)
- Students (student card required)
Other categories eligible for free admission, see : http://www.nice.fr/fr/culture/musees-et-galeries
We would also like to remind you that the French Riviera Pass (24hrs, 48hrs or 72hrs) includes free access and guided tours in all municipal museums and other emblematic sights during its period of validity.
Opening times : 10:00-18:00.
Weekly closing : Monday
Temporarily closed : 01/01, Easter, 01/05, 25/12
Judit Neuberger
International editions: