Festivals - Deauville 2025: Karl Lagasse’s Monumental Work "Reflection of the Sun" Unveiled on the Seafront

By Mulder, Deauville, Promenade Les planches, 08 september 2025

On September 8, 2025, the seaside town of Deauville once again demonstrated how deeply cinema and culture are woven into its identity when Mayor Philippe Augier unveiled a monumental bronze sculpture by Karl Lagasse on the famous Planches, directly opposite the Pavillon des Bains. Titled Reflection of the Sun, the work immediately established itself as a landmark along the Michel-d’Ornano promenade, linking the town’s heritage with its enduring relationship to the American Film Festival. For visitors strolling the boardwalk, the sculpture is more than an object of art—it is a reminder of the cinematic dreams that have echoed across these beaches for half a century.

The unveiling was not just a ceremonial gesture; it was a symbolic continuation of Deauville’s commitment to blending public space with cultural memory. The Planches, already lined with the iconic beach cabins bearing the names of American cinema legends, provided the perfect stage for a piece that pays tribute to the festival while echoing the seaside architecture that defines the promenade. The reference to the Pompeian Baths that inspired the sculpture is a nod to both classical elegance and the unique history of Deauville’s beachfront. Much like the anticipation that precedes the first screening at the festival, the sight of the new bronze rising from the boardwalk sparked excitement among locals, visitors, and film enthusiasts who now see their town enriched by yet another piece of enduring artistry.

For Karl Lagasse, this installation marked a deeply personal milestone. Born in Paris in 1981, the artist has consistently balanced pop art and street art influences with a fascination for American culture. His renowned One Dollar sculptures established him as a voice bridging transatlantic aesthetics, but Deauville has always remained a city of particular importance in his career. Back in 2012, he gifted Cryptogramme One to the town—a bronze piece inscribed with a message of peace and love—now a permanent fixture on Rue Désiré le Hoc. The placement of Reflection of the Sun on the Planches therefore represents not only a tribute to the festival but also a renewed gesture of gratitude to the town that has embraced his work for more than a decade.

The sculpture’s creation was tied directly to the 50th anniversary of the Deauville American Film Festival, celebrated just one year earlier. First revealed at the Deauville International Center, the work scales up the trophies designed by Karl Lagasse and awarded to festival winners between 2022 and 2024. Each of these trophies reflected evolving aspects of cinema: a mirror-polished aluminum cube engraved with the words “Hope,” “7th art,” and “Deauville,” a dynamic wave-shaped piece symbolizing the sea and the new wave of filmmakers, and finally a design inspired by the Pompeian Baths that now directly connects with the larger Reflection of the Sun. To see the artist transpose those intimate objects into a monumental public sculpture is to witness how cinema’s ephemeral moments of glory can be transformed into permanent symbols.

This unveiling also highlights a broader cultural strategy in Deauville: the city has been shaping an open-air art trail along its seafront, where sculptures invite both casual walkers and dedicated art lovers to engage with culture outside traditional museum walls. Reflection of the Sun is now the fourth major piece on this trail, adding to a growing landscape that blends sea, history, and creativity. In this way, the city manages to anchor its identity not only as a glamorous festival destination but also as a place where art and daily life intersect naturally. For the tens of thousands of visitors who descend upon Deauville each September, the boardwalk becomes both a cinematic red carpet and an art gallery under the open sky.

What resonates most about Reflection of the Sun is its ability to condense multiple layers of meaning into a single object. It is a tribute to the international influence of the American Film Festival, a celebration of Deauville’s resilience as a cultural hub, and a deeply personal contribution from an artist who has long drawn inspiration from the Franco-American dialogue that the town itself embodies. Standing before the bronze, one cannot help but feel the echoes of applause from countless screenings, the shimmer of flashbulbs on the red carpet, and the timeless rhythm of the waves that have witnessed generations of cinema lovers arriving in search of stories. Karl Lagasse has given Deauville more than a sculpture—he has given it a mirror in which its history, present, and future all converge.

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Photos and video: Boris Colletier / Mulderville