Réespiration
Breathing in Unison
Sometimes the most interesting exhibitions are held in the strangest places. A couple of weeks ago, I received an intriguing invitation to see a new “immersive” work of art in, of all places, the pulmonology department of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. I … Read More
Mélodies en Sous-sol: Expérience Pommery #18
Subterranean Sounds and Sights
The house of champagne Domaine Vranken-Pommery has been holding annual contemporary art exhibitions in its magnificent cellars deep in the earth for over 20 years now. This year, it has added something extra to this stellar event – sound – … Read More
Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles
Womb to Tomb
After years of closure for renovation work, the Grand Palais finally reopened the space under its monumental glass dome last summer for Olympic events and this winter for an enormously successful ice-skating rink during the holiday season. Now its first … Read More
Surréalisme
Sisters in Surrealism (and Some Men)
The Centre Pompidou couldn’t pass up a chance to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the Surrealist manifesto for one of its last blockbuster exhibitions before it shuts down for a major renovation (from summer 2025 to 2030). The museum has … Read More
Fondation Arp
Suburban Hideout for Swiss Dadaists
The sculptor and poet Jean Arp (1886-1966) may be best known to English-language cruciverbalists (yes, it’s a word, referring to a skilled crossword-puzzle solver) for his three-letter last name, which provides convenient fill for awkward gaps in a crossword grid, … Read More
Les Chevaux de Géricault
Equine Obsession
I wonder how many of the equestrian teams at this summer’s Paris Olympics managed to take time off to see the exhibition of Théodore Géricault’s paintings, “Les Chevaux de Géricault” (“Géricault’s Horses”) at the Musée de la Vie Romantique (due … Read More
Présences
Certificates of Presence
We have already sung the praises of the Maison Caillebotte, the family home of Impressionist painter Gustav Caillebotte, on Paris Update, and now we have a new reason to return to one of our favorite bucolic escapes from the jungle … Read More
Ellsworth Kelly: Shapes and Colors & Matisse: The Red Studio
Connected by Color
I felt great gratitude to the Fondation Louis Vuitton on my way out to the Bois de Boulogne to see its two new exhibitions: “Ellsworth Kelly. Shapes and Colors” and “Matisse: The Red Studio.” Why? Because the subject was not … Read More
Nina Khemchyan: Echo
Meditations on Sin and Repentance, from Venice to Paris
A catwalk of contemporary artistic fashions and a display case for the projection of cultural soft power, the Venice Biennale has grown in size and extravagance over the years as powerhouse nations have vied to outcompete one another for the … Read More
Doble Moral, Ongoing
Beyond Buns in the Oven
Beaded curtains are a familiar feature of bakeries in warm climates, drawn across doorways to fend off winged creatures tempted by sweet delicacies. As if nodding to the tradition, a photo of one is suspended in the window of La … Read More