Three monumental bronze sculptures by Franco-Lebanese artist Simone Fattal will be displayed in Mexico City next month, following her win of Monaco’s prestigious International Contemporary Art Prize.

The Prince Pierre Foundation, in collaboration with Museo Jumex, will present Fattal’s works ‘Adam and Eve’ (2021) and ‘Door’ (2024) on the museum’s esplanade from 3rd February to 1st March, offering contemporary reflection on memory, the body and myth.

Fattal received the 49th International Contemporary Art Prize on 14th October 2025 during a ceremony at the Opéra Garnier in Monte-Carlo for her work ‘Sempre il mare, uomo libero, amerai!’ (2023).

Prestigious three-year prize

The International Contemporary Art Prize has been awarded by the Prince Pierre Foundation since 1983, with the first edition dating back to 1965. The prize carries a €75,000 award and has been granted every three years since 2010.

The prize is decided by an Artistic Council chaired by Princess Caroline of Hanover. Each council member selects three international art world experts who present a work created in the past two years and considered the most accomplished and representative of an artist’s work.

Cristiano Raimondi serves as artistic director for this edition.

From war to artistic voice

Born in Damascus, Syria in 1942, Simone Fattal has become one of the major voices in contemporary international art. Her artistic practice encompasses painting, sculpture, collage, writing and publishing, influenced equally by history and the contemporary world as by classical sculpture, mythology and ancient forms.

Fleeing the Lebanese civil war, Fattal settled in California in the 1980s, where she founded the independent publishing house Post-Apollo Press to support poetry and independent literature, notably the works of Etel Adnan.

It was only after enrolling at the Art Institute of San Francisco that Fattal began working with ceramics, a medium that has accompanied her artistic practice ever since.

Fattal’s nomination for the prize came from Christine Tohme, Lebanese curator and director of Ashkal Alwan, who emphasized the relevance of her work for understanding the social, political and ecological realities of our time.

International showcase

Since 2013, the prize winner has been presented outside the Principality at an international event. For the 2025 edition, the Prince Pierre Foundation chose to exhibit at Museo Jumex in Mexico City during the city’s art week.

The display continues the foundation’s tradition of giving international visibility to prize winners while promoting contemporary artistic creation—a mission that has guided the organization since its founding.

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Photo credit: Barbara Economon