Sur tes lèvres

A powerful conveyor of emotions and of union across centuries and from culture to culture, the meaning of the kiss varies according to the era and context. Through the prism of the kiss, Sur tes lèvres presents a multifaceted vision of the body, desire, ritual, courtship, and care.

What of the younger generation? In a post-Covid world, are we still allowed to kiss? How enduring and contemporary is this act, whose representation seems as old as art itself? Starting from the collection of the Fonds régional d’art contemporain (Frac) des Pays de la Loire, expanded by loans and new creations that are being presented for the first time, this exhibition takes the public on a journey through a range of videos, photographs, sculptures, and installations.

By turns provocative or touching, ambivalent or more optimistic, the works presented at Le Lieu Unique and at the Frac Nantes site bring to life a private and social journey from the 1970s to the present day.


List of artists at Le Lieu Unique 
Alexandra Bircken, Monica Bonvicini, Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Oroma Elewa, Léuli Esrãghi, Nan Goldin, HaYoung, Noritoshi Hirakawa, Jim Hodges, Rebecca Horn, Thomas Huber, ORLAN, Camille Picquot, Jack Pierson, Jean-Michel Sanejouand, Chris Shaw, VALIE EXPORT, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Jean-Luc Verna, Xie Lei 

List of artists at the Frac - Nantes site 
Soufiane Ababri, Afra Al Dhaheri, Jean-Michel Alberola, Karla Black, A.K. Burns, Lili Doujourie, Nick Evans, Barry Flanagan, Giorgio Griffa, Ion Grigorescu, Fabrice Hyber, Nona Inescu, Marie Lund, Urs Lüthi, Goshka Macuga, Robert Malaval, David Medalla, Laurent Moriceau, Orlan, gina pane, Javier Pérez, Mick Peter, Ettore Spalletti, Georges Tony Stoll, John Tremblay, Jean-Luc Verna, Andy Warhol