On Sunday, May 31, 2026, nearly 15,000 spectators gathered on the banks of the Seine in Vernon to attend Radiance of Spring: Sky Painting for Normandie Impressionniste, an exceptional event conceived by internationally renowned artist Cai Guo-Qiang for the opening weekend of the 6th edition of the festival.
A regular exhibitor at the world's greatest cultural institutions, from the Prado to the Guggenheim, from the Centre Pompidou to the National Museum of China in Beijing, the artist had the honor of opening Normandie Impressionniste with a monumental creation designed specifically for the festival. Inspired by the world of Claude Monet and Giverny, this spectacular work transformed the Vernon sky into a vast, living, open-air painting.
Eight aerial paintings inspired by Claude Monet
The performance unfolded as a succession of eight aerial tableaux, inaugurated by a spectacular choreography combining 1,000 drones and swirls of colored smoke.
Through these metamorphoses, the landscape transformed before the spectators' eyes. Forms emerged, unfolded, and then disappeared in a perpetually moving composition, where color seemed to act like time itself: appearing, dissolving, and recomposing our gaze in real time.
Above the Seine, evocations of Claude Monet's iconic works appeared and then dissipated in a succession of eight paintings in the sky (from left to right and top to bottom) : Haystacks, Woman with a Parasol, Poppy Field, Blue and Pink, Green and Violet, Lavender, Monochrome and Daybreak.
An artistic and technical feat
Conceived by Cai Guo-Qiang for Normandie Impressionniste, the project brought together artistic vision and technological innovation through a choreography of drones and pyrotechnic effects designed by Groupe F. Together, they gave birth to an ephemeral work of exceptional scale, transforming the banks of the Seine into a monumental open-air impressionist painting.
In dialogue with the landscapes that inspired Claude Monet, this creation offered a contemporary reinterpretation of the Impressionist legacy, where the sky became simultaneously support, material and space for creation.
An exceptional moment shared by 15,000 people
Throughout the performance, thousands of spectators shared a moment of collective contemplation by the river. Filled with emotion, wonder, and poetry, this unique spectacle was one of the highlights of the Normandy Impressionist 2026 launch.
Normandie Impressionniste warmly thanks Cai Guo-Qiang and his studio, Groupe F, all the teams involved, the Department of Eure, the City of Vernon as well as the 15,000 spectators who came to witness this unique creation.
Relive this exceptional performance that marked the launch of the 6th edition of the festival :
Documentary film directed by Shanshan Xia and produced by 33 Studio, with kind permission from CAI Studio.
Also worth discovering: a unique exhibition at the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey
The event will continue throughout the summer with an exhibition by Cai Guo-Qiang presented at the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey from May 29 to August 31, 2026.
Renowned for his gunpowder paintings, Cai Guo-Qiang is taking over one of Normandy's most iconic locations with a unique exhibition conceived specifically for the site. Inspired by Monet's garden at Giverny, the works were created in Vernon and designed to engage in a dialogue with the architecture of Mont-Saint-Michel.
The artist's creative process is as spectacular as it is unique: gunpowder is applied to paper, canvas, or other surfaces, sometimes using stencils, before being ignited. The combustion then reveals traces of burns, smoke, splinters, and textures that make up the final image.
