Two events fascinated me this week and both are based on talent and sharing. L’Instant Lyrique created eight years ago by Richard Plaza and Sophie de Ségur with Julien Benhamou, is a moment of pure musical intimacy and great fun! American “baritenor” Michael Spyres was giving a recital at Salle Gaveau with pianist Mathieu Pordoy whom I had already heard last … Read More
Soutine and de Kooning form an original association at l’Orangerie
I would never have guessed that a major turning point in the work of Dutch American artist Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), was his encounter with Chaïm Soutine‘s work in New York in the 1930’s and again at the MoMA retrospective in 1950. Thanks partly to the 60 paintings bought in 1923 by Alfred Barnes and exhibited in the US, Soutine … Read More
In Senlis, Fondation Francès is rejuvenating the medieval town
Senlis is a charming medieval town north of Paris where the cathedral and the Musée de la Chasse are particularly well known. But no-one at town hall seems interested in promoting culture. In the last twelve years, the private Fondation Francès for Contemporary art has made a name to itself. Created by a dynamic couple of collectors Estelle and Hervé … Read More
Architect Bernard Desmoulin enters the Académie des Beaux arts
The name of Architects is often less known than their buildings and today at the Académie des Beaux Arts, both the newly installed candidate Bernard Desmoulin and the colleague who received him, Aymeric Zublena were unknown to me. Except that the latter is the author of Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou and of Stade de France in Saint Denis, two major … Read More
Jean Michel Othoniel dresses up the Petit Palais and more
Walking up the steps of Petit Palais has become a new experience since Jean Michel Othoniel has disguised them with glass blue bricks made in India, with the artisans of a glass village near Agra, and walking around its lush tropical garden is more fun with the gold sculptures and necklaces which adorn the palm trees and small ponds. These are … Read More
Georgia O’Keeffe is forever surprising at Centre Pompidou
“I want to exhibit at “291” more than anywhere else in New York” wrote Georgia O’Keeffe to her artist friend Anita Pollitzer. “291” was the gallery on Fifth avenue where Alfred Stieglitz had shown Rodin and Matisse in 1908, Cézanne and Picasso in 1911, Picabia and Brancusi in 1913 and 1914. She had first visited it when she studied at … Read More
Pauline Brami graduates from Ecole des Beaux Arts, and it’s time to buy her paintings
Pauline Brami is graduating from Ecole des Beaux Arts and after presenting her paintings to the jury last week, she was exhibiting them, for one evening, in the main hall under the wonderful glass roof. The space she invested is full of poetry and nature, and her style is quite fantastic. She uses natural plants to create a special paint … Read More
Christo makes everyone smile at Arc de Triomphe
As the young Bulgarian architect Iva Stanisheva (who works as a mediator on the project) was telling me: “some people don’t understand the project, others love it, but no-one is indifferent”. She explained why some of the red ropes were not perfectly aligned “they are fixed with strong hooks on the structure of the Arc and respect the underlying sculptures”. … Read More