Manfred Mohr - The Mirror Effect, Château de Montsoreau, Museum of Contemporary Art

07/11/2025

From July 11 to November 3, 2025, the Château de Montsoreau – Contemporary Art Museum presents "The Mirror Effect," a landmark exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Art & Language collective.

Housed in an iconic Loire Valley castle, the Château de Montsoreau – Contemporary Art Museum holds the largest collection of Art & Language works in the world, gathered by collector Philippe Méaille. "The Mirror Effect" brings together over 50 international artists and explores the collective's major influence on contemporary artistic practices.

“'The Mirror Effect' is an intuitive ode to the collective,” explains Lara Pan, curator of the exhibition. “The exhibition examines the relationships between the artists and their singular works, in light of the principles of Art & Language. The title refers, of course, to 'Mirror Piece,' an installation created by Michael Baldwin in 1965, but it also serves as a conceptual tool to question the form of art itself. The exhibition seeks to understand whether – and how – these forms highlight the relationship between the artwork and the viewer, inviting reflection on perception, interpretation, and meaning. It is more essential than ever to be the mirror of ourselves. Who are we really? Are we still searching for a more human, conscious, and connected world?”

Founded in 1966 in Coventry by Terry Atkinson, David Bainbridge, Michael Baldwin, and Harold Hurrell, the Art & Language collective has had a profound impact on the artistic discourse in Europe, the United States, and beyond. Mel Ramsden, who passed away in 2024, joined the group in 1970. Today, the influence of Art & Language resonates more than ever with younger generations of artists, thinkers, and art historians. In a complex political landscape, conceptual practices have once again become essential tools for critique, reflection, and resistance. The collective’s influence is strongly felt among younger generations of artists, thinkers, and art historians. In a complex political context, their conceptual practices have emerged as tools for critique, reflection, and resistance. Rooted in a dense web of theoretical, political, and experimental thought, Art & Language has always questioned the mechanisms by which language produces meaning, while challenging institutional frameworks and the boundaries between art, theory, and philosophy.

“Art & Language is Art as living thought,” states Marie-Caroline Chaudruc, Director of the Château de Montsoreau – Contemporary Art Museum.

With:
Ak2deru – Ericka Beckman – Mark Bloch – Marc Buchy – Tony Conrad – Alvin Curran – Constance De Jong – Arnold Dreyblatt – Terry Fox – Richard Foreman – Darko Fritz – Carla Gannis – Abdulnasser Gharem – Nicolás Guagnini – Adam Harrison – Jenny Holzer – IRWIN – On Kawara – Joseph Kosuth – Filip Kostic – Peter Kubelka – Ruth Leavitt – Sol LeWitt – Mark Lombardi – Katrin Mayer/c0da – Gregor Mobius – Vera Molnár – François Morellet – Manfred Mohr – Ioana Vreme Moser – Joseph Nechvatal – Carsten Nicolai – Olaf Nicolai – Rudolf Polanszky – Edwin Schlossberg – Otavio Schipper – Nicolas Shake – Igor Simic – Conrad Shawcross – Sasha Stiles – Rasa Todosijevic – RYBN.ORG – Suzanne Treister – Lawrence Weiner – La Monte Young – Constantina Zavitsanos – Carlo Zanni – Ashley Zelinskie.