« It is through modern art that I discovered « art nègre » at 20, and eventually became an ethnologist » says, Michel Leiris (1901-1990). who is the focus of an exhibition of 350 works at Centre Pompidou Metz. He is one of those extraodinary characters who wrote poetry, went on long expeditions from Dakar to Djibouti (1931-33) while he … Read More
A Northern Siren’s designs
At 40, Naja Utzon Popov has reached complete maturity in her art. The daughter of artist and designer Lin Utzon, and Russian Architect Alex Popov, she started in London a career of rug designer. Using her International upbringing, in Australia (where her grandfather designed the Sidney Opera), in Denmark and in Majorca, she is constantly inspired by water and nature. … Read More
Congo art settles at Fondation Cartier
When Fondation Cartier was created by Alain Dominique Perrin and Marie Claude Beaud in 1984, it was located in Jouy en Josas, 40 mns west of Paris and all the fashionistas of Contemporary art met there to discover the park full of statues by César or Arman and the riveting new artists. Today, it is conveniently located on boulevard Raspail in … Read More
Mona Hatoum is back in Paris
I was on my way to the Pompidou center to see the Le Corbusier exhibition (very serious and technical) and was irresistibly attracted by this wonderful British artist’s large retrospective. Mona Hatoum was born in Beryrouth in 1952, from Palestinian parents and was caught in London, when the 1975 civil war erupted in Lebanon. She therefore attended Slade School of … Read More
When Pizarro meets Atahualpa
Born in Cuzco in 1500, the Inca leader, Son of the Sun, Atahualpa, was trying to reign over 10 million Indians in an Empire that went from Ecuador to southern Columbia and Chile when his fate made him meet the Spaniard Francisco Pizarro. This conquistador had spent twenty years in Haiti and Panama before mounting an expedition to Peru. Pizarro … Read More
From Catalonia with love
There is an exhilarating feeling in landing at Perpignan airport, in the gentle warmth of early summer, and driving straight to Collioure, the famous little port where Matisse (Fenetre, 1914), Signac, Derain and friends used to paint at the beginning of the XX th century. The 3 000 population Mediterranean fort and beach are minuscule and so is the museum … Read More
Tapestries that speak of love
The city of Beauvais, an hour North of Paris, has a long tradition of tapestry weaving since Colbert, Louis XIV th’s minister, established a Manufacture Royale in 1664. Three centuries later, French Minister of culture André Malraux decided to create a museum devoted this art. It was built in the early 70’s, just in front of the sumptuous medieval cathedral, … Read More
An American painter is back in Paris
Joseph Keiffer was partly raised in Paris by his artistic parents and he is back with a charming exhibition at Jane Roberts Fine Arts. From his French years he has kept, beaches in the Cotentin, 2 cv cars racing in Normandy, but also a staircase at 93 rue du Bac and a series of very French landscapes.