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Modern Times à la Parisienne

Robert Delaunay, Paris –The Woman and the Tower, 1925 Staatsgalerie Stuttgart Photo © BPK, Berlin, Dist. RMN- Grand Palais / image BPK

“Le Paris de la Modernité: 1905-1925” is an exhibition revisiting the Paris art scene from the end of the Belle Époque to the Roaring Twenties. It was a time when the city was exploding with a frenzy of creative energy attracting artists from all over the world. For Ernest Hemingway Paris in those years was a moveable feast (until April 14, 2024. Modernism sought a new alignment with modern times. The world was changing with new technologies rapidly affecting how people lived, traveled, worked… and made war. Artists felt they needed to change too. Many did while exploring new imagery, materials and techniques. “Le Paris de la Modernité” (at the Petit Palais) tells how the modern art story played out in Paris from 1905 to 1925. Continue reading “Modern Times à la Parisienne”

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Loading Urban Art

“Loading, L’art urbain à l’ère numérique” revisits the recent history of street art and the impact of new technologies on its creation and dissemination (until July 21, 2024). The  exhibition at Paris’ Grand Palais Immersif greets visitors with a spectacular 360 degree immersive screen experience followed by several interactive installations including: “World Wide Walls” (a joystick ride of global graffiti partnered by Google Art  & Culture), “Hello, my name is…” (a DIY digital graffiti experience) and Seb Toussaint’s “Magnet Mural” inviting visitors to create a collective artwork with coloured magnetic shapes. Continue reading “Loading Urban Art”

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Julia Margaret Cameron Paris Exhibit

Taking a cellphone picture of Cameron’s 1868 photo of Hattie Campbell titled “The Echo”

“Capturer la beauté” (Arresting Beauty), the Julia Margaret Cameron exhibit at Paris’ Jeu de Paume, revisits the photography of one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. Known for her soft-focus closeups of famous Victorians, sensitive portraits of women and children and poetic photo allegories, Cameron ranks among the most important photographers of the 19th century. After establishing herself among London’s cultural elite, Cameron formed her own salon frequented by distinguished Victorians at the seaside village of Freshwater, Isle of Wight. Her timeless and original body of work, created within just over a decade (between 1864 and 1875), is a major milestone marking the beginnings of photography (to January 28, 2024). Continue reading “Julia Margaret Cameron Paris Exhibit”

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Dana Schutz’s “Monde Visible”

Dana Schutz, “Swimming, Smoking, Crying” © 2023 Dana Schutz, courtesy of the artist, CFA Berlin, Thomas Dane Gallery and David Zwirner. Photo: Obispo

One of the most prominent figures in the U.S. new figuration scene, Dana Schutz, is featured with an exhibition “Le Monde Visible” (The Visible World) at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (until February 11, 2024). With forty paintings from the early 2000s until today, drawings and recent sculptures it spans her stellar two decade career. Schutz (born 1976) is among the most successful female artists of her generation. Her painting “Elevator” recently sold at Christie’s for $6.5 million. It is the first time that the work of this internationally renowned American artist has been shown on this scale in France. Continue reading “Dana Schutz’s “Monde Visible””

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Christmas Markets, Paris 2023

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La Defense © F. Eckert

Paris’ Christmas markets are among the things that make the holidays special in France. The markets are found all over the city from the Tuilleries Garden to Saint Germain des Pres to the Parvis de la Mairie du 15e. But the biggest (10,000 meters) and most diversified market (200 stalls) is found at Paris’ La Défense. The earliest Christmas markets date back to the late middle ages and have their origin in Germany. The Dresden “Striezelmarkt”  is said to be the oldest Christmas market and was first held in the 15th century. The Bautzen Christmas market and the Vienna “December Market” are supposed to be even older dating back to the 13th century. It was in 1570 when the Christmas market tradition found its way into Alsace, France’s easternmost region bordering Germany.

Continue reading “Christmas Markets, Paris 2023”

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Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise

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Auberge Ravoux © Miyazaki

The exhibition “Van Gogh à Auvers-sur-Oise, les derniers mois” at the Musée d’Orsay (to February 4, 2024 ) is an excellent opportunity to visit the town where the artist made his last paintings.

Vincent van Gogh spent his final days in Auvers-sur-Oise. In this picturesque village located just a short train ride from Paris you can walk in Van Gogh’s footsteps, from his attic room at the Auberge Ravoux to the places where he planted his easel: the church of Auvers, the house of the painter Daubigny, the house of his friend Doctor Gachet, and the field where he painted his last work, “Wheat Field With Crows” (1890). Continue reading “Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise”

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Henri Cartier-Bresson…the other coronation

“Pour voir le couronnement!” Ce Soir, 14 Mai 1937, detail, p10, collections Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

The Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris is exhibiting Bresson’s photos of King George VI’s coronation in London on May 12, 1937. Having already spent several months working for the newly founded communist newspaper “Ce Soir,” Bresson was on site to cover the big event. First appearing in “Ce Soir,” the series was reprinted in the Communist Party’s monthly magazine “Regards.” bearing the title “Those Who Watched…” (to September 3rd, 2023). Continue reading “Henri Cartier-Bresson…the other coronation”

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Gutenberg at Paris’ BNF

The Bibliotheque Nationale de France (BNF) revisits Johannes Gutenberg’s discovery of movable-type printing with the exhibition “Imprimer! L’Europe de Gutenberg” (to July 16, 2023). Though not the first printing press, Gutenberg’s version was the first to spread across the world. Woodblock printing in China dates back to the 9th century and Korean bookmakers were printing with movable metal type a century before Gutenberg. Continue reading “Gutenberg at Paris’ BNF”