À Vernon, un spectaculaire feu d’artifice de Cai Guo-Qiang en hommage à Monet ouvrira dimanche le festival Normandie Impressionniste
On May 31, 2026, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang will launch a spectacular daytime fireworks display over the Seine in Vernon, France, as the opening event of the Normandie Impressionniste festival. The performance, titled "Radiance of Spring," uses over a thousand drones to propel colored pigments into the sky, creating ephemeral impressionist-style compositions inspired by Claude Monet's water lilies. The event coincides with the centenary of Monet's death and is accompanied by an exhibition of Cai's gunpowder paintings at the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey, created during a two-week residency in Vernon.
This event matters because it bridges contemporary art and impressionist heritage, drawing global attention to the Normandie Impressionniste festival and its theme "Un possible jardin." However, Cai's pyrotechnic works have faced environmental criticism due to polluting fine particles, following a controversy in September 2025 over his "Rising Dragon" piece in Tibet. For this performance, Cai has partnered with Groupe F to use European pyrotechnic powders compliant with current standards, attempting to address ecological concerns while maintaining the spectacle's artistic impact.