Exhibition:Odile Decq

Gallery: Petrović Castle

Duration:: April 10. – June 08. 2025.

Last night, at the Petrović Castle, the exhibition “Beyond the Looking Glass” by French architect and artist Odile Decq—one of the most influential figures on the contemporary global architectural and art scene—was officially opened.

The exhibition is conceived as a spatial and conceptual whole encompassing three key segments—art, architecture, and design—which intertwine and complement each other, creating a dynamic and thoughtful environment. Specially designed and unique elements of the exhibition include an in situ spatial installation in the Kruševac park and a sculpture inside the Petrović Castle, both created exclusively for the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro.

Speakers at the opening included Dr. Vladislav Šćepanović, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro, Blanka Marković, the exhibition’s curator, and Odile Decq herself.

Dr. Vladislav Šćepanović emphasized the significance of the exhibition for the Museum and the Montenegrin cultural scene:
“In my opinion, this is one of the best exhibitions we’ve had since the Museum was founded. ‘Beyond the Looking Glass’ not only immerses us in the multidisciplinary world of Odile Decq, but also reminds us of the power that architecture, art, and design hold in shaping the society we live in.”

He shared that he had the privilege of meeting Odile during the jury work for selecting the conceptual design of the new Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro building.

“Her understanding of contemporary architecture and her spatial vision played a key role in the selection of the winning concept by A-Fact studio. This exhibition arrives at a moment when public discourse on space, identity, and the role of culture in contemporary society is more needed than ever. I believe this very exhibition will spark important questions and inspire new steps in building Montenegro’s cultural infrastructure,” concluded Šćepanović.

Exhibition curator Blanka Marković pointed out that “Beyond the Looking Glass” is not just a retrospective of a creative opus, but a unique insight into the intellectual and spatial universe of Odile Decq.

“Odile Decq’s work doesn’t offer answers—it asks questions: about the limits of space, the role of women in contemporary creation, and the way architecture can become a tool of resistance, emancipation, and even poetry. This exhibition is the result of a dialogue—between her ideas and the local context, between art and the everyday, between us and the mirror in which we recognize our own projections of space and identity.”

Marković added that the artist invites us to reassess the spaces we inhabit—not only physically, but emotionally, socially, and politically.

“Odile Decq’s works push the boundaries between function and aesthetics, between the real and the imagined. Her architecture never denies the human—on the contrary, it empowers it. With this exhibition, we aimed to showcase not only the visual strength of her forms, but also the conceptual consistency of a creator who has transformed architecture into a form of struggle for freedom and spatial dignity.”

At the end of the evening, Odile Decq addressed the audience, emphasizing that architecture has been her path to discovering many other worlds:
“Architecture led me to art, to design, to cities and planning—but also to discovering the world. Through this exhibition, I want to share fragments of that journey, through works that speak of space not only as a physical, but as an emotional and social dimension.”

The exhibition is supported by OKOV, Feal, the Petrović Njegoš Foundation, and the University of Montenegro. It will remain open until June 8.