How does a city with 56 000 inhabitants attract a million visitors in five years? Rodez, where French painter Pierre Soulages was born a hundred years ago (next December 24), is a city in the middle of Aveyron, near the Lot and the Creuse. That is, in France profonde (deep agricultural France), where beef comes from Salers, cheese from Roquefort, … Read More
Ars en Ré celebrates its very special spire
Ile de Ré, an island off la Rochelle which has become a very posh holiday destination, was for an evening, the rendez vous of many Parisian art lovers. 28 artists who have a special relationship to the place, gave a painting or a drawing for the restoration of the church of Saint Etienne d’Ars en Ré. The particularity of its … Read More
Institut Giacometti is thriving, a year later
A year ago, Institut Giacometti was opened in a delightful studio overlooking Cimetière Montparnasse. After four exhibitions based on Fondation Giacometti’s precious collections, the place is thriving as a small charming museum. Catherine Grenier and Michèle Kieffer, curators of the show “Narrating the body”, have researched the artists’ relation to the woman body. And his early drawings at Académie de … Read More
Trees reign at Fondation Cartier
Don’t expect an art exhibition on the theme of trees, “Nous les arbres”, (We the trees) is a scientific and political diatribe for saving trees, essentially in Latin America. The oldest fossils of a forest date back to 385 million years while man appeared only 300 000 years ago. The fight between man and trees is shown through our admiration … Read More
Eva Jospin once again creates a surprise!
For her second solo show at Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve, Eva Jospin once again excels. She delivers a new series of architectural folies in cardboard and light wood which compete with the forests she has accustomed us to seeing. After her huge creations at Cour Carrée du Louvre in 2016, and galerie Beaupassage last year, we can see the evolution of her … Read More
Citéco, a dream Neo Renaissance house turned into a tech nightmare
This is a building you’ve passed a hundred times while driving to CDG airport on boulevard Malesherbes. It used to be the prestige offices of Banque de France with a huge safe room surrounded by a moat! And before that, it was built in 1878, by architect Jules Février for Emile Gaillard, a member of the 19 th century banking … Read More
French and Italian opera compete at Garnier
It is exceptionally a drawing and painting exhibition, “Un air d’Italie” that attracted me to Palais Garnier, where the Paris Opera is celebrating its 350 anniversary. Devoted to works and singers from 1669 to 1791, it reminds us of the importance of Lully, Rameau, Gluck… for the kings of France. The scenography, which mixes superb drawings and arias you can … Read More
A biennale of architecture in Versailles
Bap, Biennale of architecture and landscape of Ile de France, is new born and some aspects of it are interesting. It gave me the occasion of seeing the gallery of sculptures and moulages from the Louvre which is rarely open, in the Petite Ecurie (small stable) and to walk around the Potager du Roi, where the Ecole du Paysage trains … Read More