Born near Morella in 1899 as Ancelmo Boix y Boix, Anselme Boix-Vives only started painting at the end of his life in 1962, after having emigrated at 18 to Moûtiers in the French Alps. From being a shepherd in Catalonia, he started a vegetable shop and became such a sound businessman that in 1956, he helped his son Laurent buy … Read More
La Folie Fornasetti
French lingerie designer Chantal Thomass was surrounded by « a million » Italian fashion journalists at the opening of Piero Fornasetti’s retrospective at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Barbara Baumel, who was for many years Guy Bourdin’s assistant and nannie, was laughing as always, with a group of very handsome men. And the atmosphere was electrical, as everyone was enjoying … Read More
To be Parisian in Lausanne
The Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne is turning thirty, and so has its brand new director, Tatyana Franck, who took over last week from Sam Stourdzé, now the director of the Rencontres Internationales de photographie d’Arles. Famous around the world for its touring photo exhibitions, the Musée de L’Elysée is located in a beautiful 18 th century house overlooking Lake … Read More
Versailles’ hidden secrets
We were so early at Versailles for the opening of Charles de La Fosse’s first ever exhibition, that we decided to indulge in a couple of mojitos at D’Paris, the closest bar to the Cour d‘honneur, on the right hand side of the palace. The atmosphere there at 6 pm, is so different to that of the Château, that we … Read More
Jan Fabre’s mythical Congo
Daniel Templon has been around for a long time, almost fifty years actually, and he has never stopped surprising us. In the 70’s he was smart enough to open rue Beaubourg across the street from the brand new Pompidou Center, and he immediately became the “it gallerist”. In the 80’s, he was Leo Castelli’s champion in France, exhibiting all the … Read More
Le Petit Palais is not little anymore
With just 70 paintings of the Seicenti in Rome, the clever and dynamic director of le Petit Palais, Christophe Leribault, has managed to take over the Paris exhibition scene. And for this successful adventure he hired Pier Luigi Pizzi, whom we are most accustomed to seeing on opera stages. The result is spectacular.
Vassilakis Takis, from magnetism to art
It was fun, last night at the trendy Palais de Tokyo in Paris, to watch kids and adults behaving like kids, with their compass. They were experiencing the magnetic sculptures by Greek born sculptor Takis. The artist who spent most of his life in Paris studied with scientists from MIT experimenting light and sound, striving to capture cosmic energy.
Paula Rego in Paris at last
I fell in love with Dame Paula Rego’s paintings in 1988 when I saw her first retrospective at the Serpentine gallery in London’s Hyde Park. Everything about her art was perfect : the dark Portuguese characters, the firmness of her hand, the colourful backgrounds, the tragic fairy tales…