“Aquela Mar – Cette mer” – Maurice Maubert

In this exhibition, the artist invites you to reconnect with our common heritage that is the sea. "Aquela Mar", the title given to the exhibition means "This Sea" in Niçois.

This exhibition is divided into three parts for an in-depth artistic exploration:

Paintings and installations with a collection of works evoking the maritime universe. We find the installation Bar(ba)ca (mixed technique) that he unveiled at 109 for the first time: a pointu suspended by the point under which is a small fisherman.
A visual and sound story, including ink portraits, texts, and paintings. An imaginary cargo ship prow, Santa Manza, the rusty vessel of all travelers "who are not tourists" takes place, surrounded by inks on paper representing the relationship to this sea that leads to all the Souths. This was also the title of an exhibition presented at the Galerie de la Marine in 2008-2009 on the theme "travelers are not tourists". This part is also a tribute to the port of Nice and by extension, to all the ports of the Mediterranean.
A series of 12 captivating three-dimensional scenes, entitled "Memory and maritime curiosity". The artist creates scenes from the South that are dear to him. He includes statuettes that are reminiscent of the santons of Provence but also naïve African figurines.
This installation is an invitation, as proposed to each artist exhibited by the Palais Lascaris, to create his cabinet of curiosities, like the Chambres des Merveilles of the 17th century. This type of cabinet was present in residences such as the Palais Lascaris. Objects kept in the museum's reserves were chosen by the artist for this cabinet.

Maurice Maubert

After taking classes at the Arts-Déco in Nice to learn comics and illustration, Maurice Maubert spent a year in Paris in 1980 where he met various personalities in the profession while continuing to practice drawing. Back in Nice, he produced illustrations for various regional books, magazines and fanzines, including La Ratapinhata by Janluc Sauvaigo. He also produced advertising drawings. Between 1987 and 1997, he traveled to many countries (China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Czechoslovakia) before investing in the Hangar Saint Roch. This alternative creative space in Nice in the 1990s saw the birth of the group Nux Vomica, in which he actively participated from its foundation. He held a series of solo exhibitions in Nice and the region that made him known to the artistic community. The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Nice (Mamac) acquired some of his works for the local contemporary artists' fund. Abstract and colorful forms appear in his work, born from pigments, earth, and acrylic. He experiments with various techniques and expressions: paintings, collages, drips, sculptures, installations, and creates paintings that burst into reality, creating a symbolic and imaginary space. He also creates small and medium-sized clay sculptures as well as larger ones based on wire mesh, plaster, and cement. These allow him to stage large installations where he rediscovers the spontaneity and poetry of childhood.