Exhibition
"Behind the Bathers"
Opening reception: Monday, December 15, 2025, at 6 p.m.
Artist : Gaétan Vaguelsy
from December 16, 2025 to February 18, 2026
Espace culturel - Montpellier site
As part of the Résidence(s) croisée(s) 2025-2026 program, visual artist Gaétan Vaguelsy spent more than three months working on a large-format oil painting. The exhibition Derrière Les Baigneurs tells the story of this work and the artist's creative process. We discover his working environment as it is: palette, brushes, tools, works in progress, studio, etc.
Through his paintings, Gaétan Vaguelsy always depicts youth in a positive and glorious light. Beyond giving it a triumphant image, he uses symbols to remind us of the fragile and sensitive nature of human beings, who are always in search of fulfillment and happiness. He questions our contemporary society while being mindful of echoing history.
This exhibition offers a unique opportunity to understand the artistic process by stepping inside the painter's studio. Until January 21, 2026, the painting will be on display in the Cultural Space of the Faculty of Education, after which it will be presented at the Fabre Museum, placed opposite Courbet's Baigneuses, creating an exceptional dialogue. The exhibition Derrière Les Baigneurs will continue until February 18, 2026, with the artist's archives showing the early inspirations and stages of creation of his work.
Take a unique journey into the world of painter Gaétan Vaguelsy!
The Résidence(s) croisée(s ) brings together the Faculty of Education of the University of Montpellier, theFlorian nursery school and MO.CO. around a common project: to offer an artist a space for creation and transmission, while promoting encounters between art, education and the public. This tripartite partnership has become a not-to-be-missed event, giving art a unique place in learning environments every year.
For its 2025-2026 edition, the residency welcomes Gaétan Vaguelsy. His project , "Les Naïades de la ville 2.0"(The Naiads of theCity 2. 0), presented atthe Faculty of Education's Cultural Space, is part of an artistic approach deeply influenced by his life experience. The artist draws on his unconventional adolescence and his formative friendships to represent a youth that he magnifies, elevating it to the rank of kings and queens. Behind this glorification, he questions the fragility and sensitivity of the human condition, while seeking to echo history through its symbols.
Since 2016, the Faculty of Education has offered an annual autumn artist residency at its Montpellier site. At the same time, the Florian nursery school, in partnership with MO.CO., has initiated an annual residency cycle. In 2020, the two residencies were structured into a single course. The 2025-26 edition of Résidence(s) croisée(s) will be the fifth in this tripartite partnership.
The cross-residency will take place over 3 key periods: a residency at the FDE-UM in autumn 2025 (creation, personal exhibition and workshops), a residency by the same artist at the Florian school, in partnership with the MO.CO., in spring 2026 (creation, workshops, exhibition for parents) and a restitution period in the form of an exhibition of work produced by students and staff from the university and pupils from the Florian school in May-June 2026.june 2026 in dialogue with the artist's work, at the Espace culturel of the Faculty of Education.
Before enrolling at the Beaux-Arts de Montpellier in 2013, artist Gaétan Vaguelsy grew up off the beaten track in the Paris region. After dropping out of school at the end of middle school, he grew up on the fringes with a group of friends. Together they experienced many adventures. These adventures forged him and he feels today the importance of that carefree period, to which he and his friends,past and present, would like to pay tribute.friends.
In his work, the queens and kings are those in his entourage. They represent both a pivotal stage in his life and an entire generation. In his paintings, he always portrays them in a positive, glorious light. Beyond presenting a triumphant image of these young people, he uses symbolism to remind us of the fragile, sensitive human condition, always in search of fulfillment and happiness. He is also keen to echo history.
The artist is available to welcome the curious at the Espace culturel on Wednesday and Friday afternoons
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