Majorelle Garden inspires Dan McCleary exhibition on 12 November

Majorelle Garden (Jardin Majorelle) in Marrakesh is the subject of a new Dan McCleary exhibition opening at the nearby Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech on 12 November 2026. The exhibition brings paintings inspired by the garden into a museum setting beside the botanical site.

Dan McCleary exhibition opens beside the garden

The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech presents Dan McCleary - Jardin Majorelle from 12 November 2026 through 9 November 2027. The artist is American, and the exhibition gathers work made during residencies in the garden in spring and autumn 2026.

The museum describes a body of watercolours, drawings and oil paintings centred on the garden's botanical richness. McCleary first approached the plants through the precision of botanical illustration, then moved towards a more intuitive interpretation of the plant world. The current exhibition programme places the presentation in the museum's photography gallery.

For visitors, the news creates a direct link between the living garden and the exhibition venue. A visit to the plants can therefore be followed by works made during two specific periods spent among them, rather than by a separate display with no connection to the site.

From Jacques Majorelle's garden to McCleary's paintings

The garden began with French painter Jacques Majorelle, who moved to Marrakech in 1919 and bought a palm grove on the city's outskirts in 1923. He built the Villa Bousafsaf seven years later, then commissioned architect Paul Sinoir in 1931 to create an Art Deco workshop.

Majorelle developed the property around a central pool with varied planted environments. He created the intense blue now associated with the site in 1937 and opened the garden to the public in 1947. The official garden history records how the site later fell into neglect before Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé acquired it in 1980.

That history gives the exhibition its particular setting. The garden is not simply a location named in the title: its plants are the central subjects of McCleary's new works, while its earlier transformation into a public place explains why those subjects can now be encountered both outdoors and in the museum.

A museum neighbour adds context to the garden visit

The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech opened in 2017 and stands on Rue Yves Saint Laurent beside the garden. Its programme gives the exhibition a clear date range, while the garden's own site identifies the connected garden, Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts and Yves Saint Laurent Museum as separate visitor destinations.

The relationship between the two institutions also reflects the property's modern history. Saint Laurent and Bergé acquired the garden after discovering it in Marrakech, and the foundation later developed a group of cultural spaces around the site. McCleary's residency continues that pattern by making the garden a source for contemporary artistic work.

The exhibition's end date, 9 November 2027, extends well beyond the current travel period. Visitors arriving in Marrakesh between 14 November and 14 December 2026 will find the presentation already open, with the garden remaining the physical subject behind its paintings, drawings and watercolours.

Visiting Majorelle Garden: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Dan McCleary - Jardin Majorelle runs from 12 November 2026 to 9 November 2027 at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech.
• The exhibition is in the museum's photography gallery on Rue Yves Saint Laurent, beside the garden, rather than inside the garden itself.
• The garden occupies a walled site with paths on different levels, a central pool and boldly coloured buildings combining Art Deco and Moorish influences.
• The garden and the museum are separate destinations within the wider cultural complex, so the exhibition venue should be distinguished from the outdoor garden visit.

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Frequently asked questions about Majorelle Garden

When does the Dan McCleary exhibition take place at Majorelle Garden?

Dan McCleary - Jardin Majorelle runs from 12 November 2026 to 9 November 2027 at the nearby Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech.

What is Majorelle Garden?

It is a botanical garden in Marrakesh developed by French painter Jacques Majorelle and opened to the public in 1947.

Where is Majorelle Garden and how do you get there?

The garden and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech are on Rue Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakesh, beside one another in the wider cultural complex.