William Daniels’ color documentary photographs are featured with the exhibition “Wilting Point” at the the Pavillon Carre de Baudouin in Paris’ 20th arrondissement (until April 11, 2019). Dainiels (born 1977) is a French Paris-based photojournalist working with National Geographic, Time Magazine, Le Monde and Polka. The exhibition includes recent photos from his Central African Republic series as well as photos taken in Kirghizistan, Bangladesh, Russia, Syria and a dizzying number of other troubled places. Continue reading “Wilting Point Photos”
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”
Eiffel Tower Behind Glass
We’ll always have Paris. But if Bogart’s character in Casablanca came back to the city today he would be shocked to see some of the changes… par exemple the Eiffel Tower set off behind a three meter bullet proof transparent glass security wall. Continue reading “Eiffel Tower Behind Glass”
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”
The Gardener of Eden
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”
Vivian Maier Color Photos at Les Douches
There’s a lot of buzz these days in the photo world about the discovery of work by street photographer Vivan Maier (1926 – 2009). Now Parisians can see some of her rare color photos with an exhibition at Les Douches Gallery (to March 30, 2019). The photos are a selection of prints from the John Maloof Collection in association with the Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York. Continue reading “Vivian Maier Color Photos at Les Douches”
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”
Tutto Ponti in Paris
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”
The Invisible Killer
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”
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””
The Actor Who Was France
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”