The “Toulouse-Lautrec Resolutely Modern” exhibition at Paris’ Grand Palais revisits the work of this popular post-impressionist painter world-renowned for his studies of life in Montmartre (to January 27, 2020). His cabaret nightlife paintings are indelibly linked in the public imagination with Belle Epoque Paris. Continue reading “Toulouse-Lautrec Resolutely Modern”
Blue Riders on the Storm
Paris’ Musee de l’Orangerie revisits two major German painters Franz Marc and August Macke— who were part of the “Blue Rider” group (Der Blaue Reiter)— with the exhibition “L’adventure du cavalier bleu” (to June 17, 2019). The exhibition focuses on Marc and Macke’s artistic relationship, how their lives and work intersected and evolved. Continue reading “Blue Riders on the Storm”
Back in the USSR
The October Revolution (1917) ended centuries of Czarist rule reshaping the Russian empire into the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Meanwhile Russian artists during those turbulent times were making their own revolutions breaking the old art rules with new ideas such as cubism, futurism and expressionism. Continue reading “Back in the USSR”
Tomi Ungerer Paris Exhibits
The Irish Cultural Center in Paris tributes Alsatian-born satirist and illustrator Tomi Ungerer (1931-2019)—who lived in Ireland for more than forty years– with an exhibition “En Attendant” featuring his “Waiting for Godot” collage series and several sculptures (until July 5, 2019). Continue reading “Tomi Ungerer Paris Exhibits”
Thomas Houseago Paris Retrospective
Los Angeles based British artist Thomas Houseago’s “Almost Human” is a retrospective exhibition featuring his sculptures and paintings at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (until July 14, 2019). The exhibition —with a title inspired by Leonard Cohen’s iconic song “Suzanne”—follows the evolution of Houseago’s work from the 1990s to present day experiments. Continue reading “Thomas Houseago Paris Retrospective”
Les Nabis Revisited
Decorative art by “Nabis” artists such as Bonnard, Valloton, Vuillard and Sérusier is the subject of “Les Nabis el le Décor” at the Musée du Luxembourg. It includes ceramics, textiles, wallpaper project proposals and decorative panels commissioned by the artists’ friends and patrons (until June 30, 2019). The exhibition accompanies another “Nabis” themed exhibition in town at the Musée d’Orsay “Le Talisman Sérusier, une prophéte de la couleur” (until June 02, 2019). Continue reading “Les Nabis Revisited”
Bamboo Art at Branly Museum
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”
Zen Word Paintings at Gleichapel
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”
Paris Celebrates “Japonisme”
“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””
Erwin Redl’s Light Labyrinth
“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”
Southern Geometries at Fondation Cartier
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”