This first MACS MTO™ exhibition, Un Ciel intérieur, borrows its title from Henry Corbin, philosopher and Sufi scholar, to evoke the inner journey of the Sufi in his or her spiritual journey. It sheds light on the quest to reach the divine essence present in every experience that is at once intimate, universal and timeless.
Un Ciel intérieur invites us, through art, to experience this journey towards spiritual elevation, offering the keys to an encounter with Sufism. The exhibition follows a path that creates a dialogue between symbolic objects linked to Sufi art and culture, and works by contemporary artists from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, North America and Europe.
Across generations and geographical borders, these encounters underline the universality and continuity of this inner quest.
With Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Pinaree Sanpitak, Younes Rahmoun, Seffa Klein, Troy Makaza, Chloé Quenum and Bianca Bondi
The exhibition itself reflects this spiritual and human experience, highlighting the symbolic dimension of Sufism, the unique way in which its teachings are transmitted, and the practices and creations that are the expression of this journey. Echoing contemporary creations by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Pinaree Sanpitak, Younes Rahmoun, Seffa Klein, Troy Makaza, Chloé Quenum and Bianca Bondi, this exploration of the museum’s three floors and garden takes on a sensory dimension that invites contemplation and introspection.
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The exhibition route is conceived as an upward journey through the museum’s architecture. It takes visitors on an inner exploration of the body, mind and spirit (the heart), all threads that invite them to connect symbolically with the earth, sky and cosmos, in an upward movement towards their inner sky.
The symbolism of geometric figures, recurrent in Sufi art and culture, is echoed in the mirror mosaic sculptures and drawings of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian.
It also resonates with the vibrant, protean works of Seffa Klein, who draws her many references from Sufism, as well as from many forms of spirituality and wisdom, astrophysics, cosmology and nature.
Bianca Bondi‘s work lies at the edge of several worlds, seeking to reveal the intangible links that exist between the visible (nature, the living, the sensory experiences summoned through her installations and the chemical phenomena that transform matter) and the invisible (the idea of rituals drawn from various forms of mysticism and non-Western sources of knowledge).
Pinaree Sanpitak has created a new series of paintings that resonate with the collection’s kashkūl – a container symbolizing the emptiness required to receive divine knowledge. In these abstract paintings, she depicts the female body and its links with the symbolic and spiritual dimensions of these receptacles.
Younes Rahmoun‘s works are rooted in a conception of the world rooted in the principles of Sufism. They materialize inner experience and give form to the imperceptible, such as awakening and spirit. The house, a universal motif, is a recurring theme in his work. Depicted in three sculptures in the exhibition, it symbolizes the intimate place from which the individual finds his or her place in the world. A new work created by Younes Rahmoun for Un Ciel intérieur, Markib-Habba (Barque-Graine) revolves around the barque – symbol of the spiritual voyage – and the seed – source of life and place where the soul resides.
Chloé Quenum translates three words linked to Sufi thought – safā (clarity, limpidity), samā’ (spiritual listening), sūf (wool) – into a variation of blown-glass letters, offering a subtle, poetic meditation on language and its profound symbolism.
Finally, Troy Makaza creates a new work that unfolds around the notion of transition and travel between the physical world and spirituality. It evokes a territory in perpetual transformation, in the image of geographical maps that offer an ever-changing representation of the world. This work brings the exhibition and catalog to a close, as an invitation to extend them by following one’s own path.
From September 28, 2024 to April 6, 2025, from the autumn equinox to the spring equinox, Un Ciel intérieur is set in a temporality that introduces a cyclical and evolutionary element – the cycle of the sun and stars, following the manifestations of life from one season to the next – not unlike the characteristics of the Sufi’s inner path.
