Conversation(s)

From June 26 to December 7, 2026, the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar presents Conversation(s), an ambitious exhibition conceived as a dialogue between the medieval masterpieces in its collections and major works of modern and contemporary art. Conceived as a transhistorical journey, it explores the sensory, formal, and symbolic affinities that run through the history of art from the 13th century to the present day. By bringing together works from vastly different contexts, media, and eras, the exhibition highlights the enduring nature of certain artistic concerns—the body, the sacred, violence, vanity, memory, and matter—and reveals the echoes, resonances, and sometimes frictions that have emerged over the centuries.

Every work has its counterpart somewhere. It is not the art historian’s role to bring them together: they find each other on their own, sometimes centuries apart, as soon as a color, an object, a form, or a subject inexorably draws them together, just as much as an inspiration from afar. The 16th-century bas-relief depicting the martyrdom of Saint Catherine with striking volumetric intensity pairs with César’s Compression de bidons, created four centuries later in 1991, despite their radically opposed sculptural intentions. The art of conversation offers infinite perspectives to those willing to engage with it, without forgetting what it entails.

 For the works are not reduced to mere affinities. On the contrary, they may observe one another, question one another without finding an answer, circle around one another, and ultimately collide. Regardless of the social context or the era in which they were produced, these works respond to one another through what they share most fundamentally: the profound sensibility of those who create, paint, and sculpt.

Alongside the museum’s iconic medieval masterpieces, the exhibition brings together major works by modern artists such as Niki de Saint Phalle, César, Maryan, and Pierre Soulages, as well as key figures of the international contemporary scene, including Ron Mueck, Annette Messager, Maurizio Cattelan, and Robert Combas.

This exhibition is conceived as an introspective journey through the history of humanity and creation. It explores the evolution of modes of representation and artistic sensibilities across the centuries, offering contrasts that are as poetic as they are philosophical.

In collaboration with: 
Nino Barattini, Heritage Curator
Foreword by Thierry Cahn, President of the Schongauer Society
Raphaël Mariani, Heritage Curator / Interim Director

The book is published in co-edition with the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar.

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The artists

Arman (1928–2005); Seyni Awa Camara (1945–2026); Maurizio Cattelan; César (1921–1998); Malo Chapuy (b. 1995); Robert Combas (b. 1957); Hervé Di Rosa (b. 1959); Otto Dix (1891–1969); Martin Engelmann (1924–1992); Yannis Gaïtis (1923–1984); Jacques Grinberg (1941–2011); Hans Holbein the Elder (15thcentury); Martin Hoffmann (16thcentury); Michel Journiac (1935–1995); Jean Lurçat (1892–1966)

Maryan S. Maryan (1927–1977); Théo Mercier (born 1984); Annette Messager (born 1943); Ron Mueck (born 1958); Vera Pagava (1907–1988); Yves Saint Laurent (1936–2008); Jean-Claude Silbermann (born 1935); Pierre Soulages (1919–2022); Agnès Thurnauer (born 1962); Urbain Huter (15the century); Waydelich Raymond (1938–2024).