21Art is pleased to announce the opening of its first international venue in Monte Carlo, marking an important new chapter in the gallery’s expansion and confirming the Principality’s growing role as one of Europe’s leading destinations for contemporary art.
Launching 21Art Monte Carlo is Belgian artist Jan Fabre, one of the most influential figures on the international contemporary art scene. Curated by Melania Rossi, the exhibition Allegory of Caritas (An Act of Love) will be on view from June 11 to September 11, 2026, and will feature approximately forty works, including sculptures made from Mediterranean red coral and a series of drawings created using the artist’s own blood.
With more than four decades of artistic research spanning visual arts, theatre, and literature, Jan Fabre has exhibited at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including the Louvre Museum in Paris and the State Hermitage Museum, becoming the first living artist to hold major solo exhibitions at both museums. His work has also been presented at the Venice Biennale, Documenta Kassel, and numerous international museums and festivals.
Allegory of Caritas (An Act of Love) reflects Fabre’s visionary practice, merging the ancient symbolic tradition of coral with the concept of caritas, derived from the Latin carus, meaning “beloved” or “precious.” Present in both Eastern and Western cultures, the notion of caritas becomes in Fabre’s work a universal force of solidarity, compassion, and love, capable of generating and sustaining life.
The exhibition includes the artist’s renowned vanitas skulls, anatomical hearts, crosses, liturgical objects, Yin and Yang symbols, Celtic love knots, and emblems associated with humanitarian aid and collective solidarity, alongside objects connected to personal memories and popular beliefs.
The Mediterranean red coral sculptures—fiery red forms that appear to emerge directly from the depths of the artist’s imagination—create a poetic encounter between natural material and artistic vision. Equally powerful are the blood drawings, in which Fabre employs his own blood with extraordinary technical precision to narrate the gestation of his son, Django.
An ancient symbolic bond unites blood and coral. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, coral is said to originate from the blood of Medusa; even the branching structure of coral recalls the intricate network of veins and arteries within the human body.
As curator Melania Rossi observes, “Through these works, art becomes a privileged language for representing life—its origins, mysteries, oppositions, and harmonies. In Fabre’s meticulous and deeply spiritual research, beauty and vulnerability coexist, transforming personal experience into a universal reflection.”
The primordial physicality of the coral sculptures resonates with the intimate tenderness of the blood drawings, in which the artist recounts the earliest stages of existence through ultrasound images of his unborn son. Private emotion is elevated into a universal meditation on fragility, empathy, and human interconnectedness.
The tension that permeates Fabre’s work—suspended between flesh and spirit, life and death, suffering and reconciliation—ultimately reveals an artistic vision imbued with profound spirituality. As the artist himself states, “Art is like love; it always leads to reconciliation.”
The coral used by Jan Fabre for these sculptures is Mediterranean coral, a deep-sea species whose harvesting is fully legal. The material is supplied by Enzo Liverino 1984 of Torre del Greco, a historic company specializing in the processing and export of coral worldwide. Fabre had previously collaborated with the company for his solo exhibition at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte and for permanent installations at the Pio Monte della Misericordia, the Chapel of San Gennaro, and the Church of Santa Maria del Purgatorio ad Arco in Naples.
Importantly, Liverino, like other companies in Torre del Greco, is known for its responsible use of coral, which is harvested in compliance with strict Mediterranean fishing regulations. This coral does not belong to reef ecosystems threatened by climate change and ocean acidification and, most importantly, is not considered an endangered species, being protected and regulated by international organizations such as CITES.
Given the Principality of Monaco’s longstanding commitment to ocean conservation, 21Art presents Jan Fabre’s Allegory of Caritas (An Act of Love) in an ideal dialogue with one of the world’s foremost centres dedicated to coral research and conservation.
Already established in Rome, Treviso, Padua, and Jesolo, the benefit corporation founded by Alessandro Benetton on a project conceived by entrepreneur Davide Vanin has chosen Monte Carlo for its first international venue—a strategic and symbolic decision that reflects the city’s rapid evolution into an international cultural hub.
Located in the new Mareterra eco-district (22 Quai du Petit Portier), a major Mediterranean waterfront development designed by Renzo Piano, 21Art Monte Carlo promises to become a dynamic destination for discovering both established and emerging international artists, offering a programme dedicated to some of the most compelling voices in contemporary art.
The gallery is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. For information: Tel. +377 37 705878, WhatsApp +44 7824 325808, montecarlo@21art.it, https://twentyoneart.com/.
Jan Fabre is a Belgian visual artist, theatre artist, and author, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in contemporary international art. Born in Antwerp in 1958, he studied at the Municipal Institute of Decorative Arts and Crafts and later at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, Fabre has developed a multidisciplinary practice encompassing drawing, sculpture, performance, installation, film, and theatre, guided by a profound exploration of metamorphosis. Central to his work is an investigation of the boundaries between life and death, beauty and vulnerability, eros and spirituality, with the human body occupying a pivotal role. His works frequently employ unconventional materials—including beetle wing cases, blood, bones, wax, and bodily fluids—transforming organic matter into poetic and often unsettling visions. Combining scientific curiosity, symbolism, and ritual, he creates immersive environments in which aesthetic seduction coexists with ethical, philosophical, and existential reflection. Themes such as bodily fragility, memory, sacrifice, transcendence, and the tension between instinct and reason recur throughout his artistic production. Fabre first gained international recognition through innovative performances and theatrical productions such as The Power of Theatrical Madness (1984), presented at the Venice Biennale, and Mount Olympus (2015), a 24-hour theatrical marathon inspired by Greek tragedy. Alongside his visual arts practice, he is considered one of the foremost innovators in contemporary theatre and performance art. In 1986, he founded the Antwerp-based company Troubleyn/Jan Fabre. Over the past four decades, Fabre has exhibited in major museums and institutions worldwide. Notable solo exhibitions include those at Kunsthaus Bregenz (2008), the Musée du Louvre (2008)—where he became the first living artist invited to create a large-scale dialogue with the museum’s permanent collection—the Kröller-Müller Museum (2011), MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Arts (2013), the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon (2016), the State Hermitage Museum (2016), where he again became the first living contemporary artist to occupy such an extensive portion of the historic museum, Palazzo Vecchio with the major exhibition Spiritual Guards (2016), and the Leopold Museum (2017). Fabre has participated multiple times in the Venice Biennale, as well as in Documenta Kassel and numerous international biennials and festivals. His works are included in prestigious public and private collections across Europe, the United States, and Asia. On the occasion of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Jan Fabre has presented three new bronze sculptures in dialogue with Tintoretto’s monumental painting cycle at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, on view until November 22, 2026.
21Art is a benefit corporation founded by Alessandro Benetton based on a project by entrepreneur Davide Vanin. The group currently operates five galleries located in Treviso, Padua, Rome, Jesolo, and Monte Carlo, with new openings planned in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2027. Each gallery develops its own identity through an intensive exhibition programme featuring both emerging artists and internationally acclaimed established figures. Every 21Art venue is accompanied by the 21Art Club, an innovative community of collectors, artists, and art professionals. The widespread presence of 21Art galleries, combined with a strong and loyal collector community, enables the organization to provide structured, long-term support to artists. This model fosters a virtuous dialogue between artists, collectors, and local communities, strengthening a dynamic and shared cultural ecosystem over time. The gallery spaces have undergone renovation and exhibition design interventions by Fosbury Architecture, the collective that curated the Italian Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale.