Monaco exhibition for quirky and cynical artist Rice

The artist is exhibiting his new creations at the Quai des Artistes in October, with the theme ‘Tous Ego’ (a French play on words: Ego/Equality for all).

The artist from the Paris surbubs didn’t chose his pseudonym at random, it’s an anagram of his real name. His extremely varied life has taken him to the four corners of the world to understand how it works and express his vision of it.

It all began some twenty years ago, at DPM Motors, a Monaco dealership. And that encounter would turn his life upside down. “I am infinitely grateful to those people. They’ve always been there for me, and that’s been the case for 20 years now,” he says of the relationship between them. “I made them laugh, and they thought we were going to have a lot of fun together.” It was at the garage that the artist began experimenting with plastic – resin fibre to be precise.

“I do what I do because I have things to say”

After moving to the South of France, Rice began travelling the globe. For years, he moved around Asia, particularly India, where he lived for a year, and South America, which he explored by motorbike. These journeys led to a change in his view of society, becoming both light-hearted and caustic, and an increasing awareness of the consumerist aspect of the world.

His technique involves modifying objects in order to put a message across, often of a political nature. His whole life experience tells a story. A quirky story with a childlike flavour that contrasts with the sometimes less than sparkling reality of the adult world. That’s why gun barrels are parodied, medicine is re-examined, works of art are hijacked and heads of state are even infantilised.

“These trips taught me a lot. It was a real culture shock. When you come back here, you don’t just feel jet-lagged, you’re almost era-lagged. Listening to our peers, we can sense something’s not right, and that’s where my main inspiration comes from,” says Rice, a man who is especially attached to the Principality.

*Rice likes to think outside the box to express his style © Stéphane Renaux*

*For this piece, the artist was inspired by Édouard Manet’s painting “Le déjeuner sur l’herbe” © Stéphane Renaux*

*Boxing gloves from the famous Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman © Stéphane Renaux*

Because of that attachment, the artist regularly exhibits his creations in Monaco, for example at the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), where some of the cars – made from fibre, chrome and leather – belong to Prince Albert II. Rice always tries to follow his instincts, without preconceived ideas. “ That’s my strength. What I have most trouble with is establishing a common thread, I value the uniqueness of each piece. I’m not necessarily looking for unity because I’m afraid of getting bored. I want to find the best medium through which to express my ideas,” he says. He grins as he tells us that he used to dream of being a football player.

French Riviera Art Guide: a free online resource to explore Côte d’Azur’s artistic heritage

An exhibition in a venue that is steeped in history

The Quai des Artistes is providing a veritable showcase for his work with the new exhibition, thanks to its generous cuisine and its revisited art deco interior. Secondly, because the brasserie, which reopened in 2023, used to host a variety of artistic creations upstairs, as the establishment’s director Bertrand Letartre explains.

“There were artists upstairs. Prince Rainier III had given them upstairs premises and the ground floor was their ‘canteen’ for lunch and dinner. I bought the premises three years ago. I wanted to refresh the interior and the menu. Then I wanted to go back to the origins of the Quai des artistes by bringing in artists. Cooking and painting are both art forms. Together they make a very interesting whole.”

Although nothing has yet been decided about the next stage of the programme, the initiative has now been launched and other artists will have the opportunity to present their work throughout the year.