A new exhibition opened at Monaco’s Quai des Artistes on October 7th inviting viewers to contemplate an uncomfortable dinner party scenario, and in doing so, revealing much about power, morality and the darker corners of history.
French artist Rice presents ‘Tous Ego’ throughout October, featuring works that are “colourful and playful” yet “offbeat and cynical”. At the heart of the exhibition are two striking dining table scenes that pose a simple but unsettling question: which table would you sit at?
Two tables, one choice
The first table presents the favourite meals of Napoleon, Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Mao, Saddam Hussein, Stalin and Kim Il-sung. Each dish and drink has been meticulously researched. These are their actual preferences, historically accurate down to the smallest detail. “This kind of artwork is done to remind us that something that could look very sympathetic, isn’t always,” Rice observes.
The alternative? A picnic with Princess Diana, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Ernest Hemingway, JFK and Marilyn Monroe, each with their final meal. Again, every plate is faithful to historical record, but this is a gathering at life’s end rather than the height of power.
The juxtaposition is deliberate and disquieting. Would you dine with dictators in their prime, or join beloved icons knowing it’s your last? It’s the sort of question that lingers, revealing much about the viewer as the viewed.
Elsewhere in the exhibition, Mickey Mouse appears caught in a trap but instead of cheese as bait, there’s a bitcoin. The image captures something essential about contemporary culture; even childhood innocence isn’t immune to our obsession with wealth and digital fortune.
A travelled perspective
These works spring from a worldview shaped by displacement. Born in the Paris suburbs, Rice moved to the south of France where he realised “the sun makes everything beautiful and sometimes hides another reality. That of a consumerism which exalts…but doesn’t necessarily make you happy.”
This awakening led to nearly seven years travelling through Asia, particularly in India, and South America. “Being elsewhere offered me another perspective on things as well as other elements of language to tell our daily story,” he explains.
Returning to France, an artistic encounter in Saint-Paul-de-Vence proved radical. Working alongside an established artist, Rice gradually moved “from the opening act to the main show,” launching himself as a visual artist determined to transform objects into political statements.
His subjects are drawn from travel and daily life, presented as childlike stories that actually reveal much about “the adult work, which isn’t always glorious”. Gun barrels get parodied, medicine reimagined, artworks subverted.
The exhibition launches L’Atelier du Quai des Artistes, a new monthly programme at the restaurant featuring painters, sculptors and photographers. Under Monaco-based artist Anthony Alberti – better known as Mr One Teas – direction, each exhibition runs for one month at Quai des Artistes, 4 quai Antoine 1er.
See more in Kyriaki Topalidou’s news reel below…
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More photos of the exhibition can be found in the gallery below. Credit: @laroseetlecorbeau.
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Main photo credit @laroseetlecorbeau.