The webzine for English speaking Parisians
The “Fendre l’air, Art du bambou au Japon” exhibition at Musée du quai Branly —featuring bamboo art dating from the late 19th century to the present— looks at how Japanese basket making went from craft to a medium of expression used by contemporary artists (to April 07, 2019). Continue reading “Bamboo Art at Branly Museum”
A mysterious beachcomber, in “The Gardener of Eden,” appears one day on the coastal bluffs near the small town of Carverville, a place whose best days are long behind it. Who is he, and why has he returned after nearly forty years? The book is Paris-based author David Downie’s haunting, luminous novel set in a mythical Pacific Coast locale somewhere in Northern California. Continue reading “The Gardener of Eden”
Gleichapel, an upper Marais Paris art space —describing itself as “a discrete, miniature and independent art platform— is showing an installation of Zen word paintings by New Mexico based painter John Phillip Abbott (February 9-March 24, 2019). Continue reading “Zen Word Paintings at Gleichapel”
Giovanni “Gio” Ponti, (1891-1976) one of the most important figures in 20th century Italian design, is featured with a retrospective “Tutto Ponti, Gio Ponti archi-designer” at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (to May 5, 2019). The exhibition presents a panoramic chronology of Ponti’s six-decade career in architecture, design, interiors and publishing. Continue reading “Tutto Ponti in Paris”
A new book by pollution scientist Dr Gary Fuller “The Invisible Killer, the rising global threat of air pollution… and how we can fight back” examines air pollution past and present while revealing the global magnitude of the pollution problem from London to Beijing to Los Angeles. Continue reading “The Invisible Killer”
“Japonisme” is a word coined in 1872 by French art collector and critic Philippe Burty describing the French craze for all things Japanese. With France’s 1867 Exposition Universelle Parisians saw their first major exhibition of Japanese art inspiring such artists as Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Continue reading “Paris Celebrates “Japonisme””
A new book by Joseph Harriss on the life and times of Jean Gabin is the first biography in English of the iconic French film actor whose career and life mirrored both 20th century France and the early evolution of modern film. Gabin’s most memorable films include “La Grande Illusion” (1937), “La Bete Humane” (1938), “Le Jour se Leve” (1939) and “Le Plaisir” (1950). Continue reading “The Actor Who Was France”
With “Best Parisian Bistro Recipes for Food Lovers,” a book published by Parigramme—and clicking your ruby slippers three times— you can magically travel to Paris while learning to cook some French cuisine classics such as “Onion Soup,” “Endives with Ham” and “Crème Burlee.’ Continue reading “Bon Appetit!”
“Paris has more to offer than climbing the Eiffel Tower” says “So Parisian!” author Jean-Christophe Napias. With lesser-known museums, authentic restaurants and unexpected discoveries, this charming book (published by Parigramme) offers an eclectic selection of unusual shops, timeless brasseries, cool bistros and romantic gardens that make this city so special…and so Parisian! Continue reading “So Parisian!”
“Light Matters” is an immersive room-size light installation by Austrian artist Erwin Redl at the Fondation EDF where visitors enter a labyrinth of LED lights spread over two floors and whose tones vary slowly between red and blue (to February 03, 2019). Using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as an artistic medium Redl’s works redefine interior and exterior spaces by exploring architectural volumes. From floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall, the work fills the EDF gallery space with a grid of phosphor LEDs, creating a visual web of light. Continue reading “Erwin Redl’s Light Labyrinth”
The exhibition “Southern Geometries, from Mexico to Patagonia” at Paris’ Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain revisits the vibrant styles in geometric art of Latin America made by over 70 artists from the Pre-Columbian period to the present (to February 24, 2019). Continue reading “Southern Geometries at Fondation Cartier”