I first started with the Charles Ray show at Centre Pompidou which occupies a large part of the 6 th floor gallery and walked down to the Pinault Collection at Bourse du Commerce to see more of this Chicago born Californian artist who has suddenly taken over the Paris contemporary art scene. It is quite a lovely way to go through … Read More
In London, great excitement makes up for train disruptions
Spending the week end in London was utterly exciting after a three year gap and I was lucky to see both Beatrix Potter‘s show at the V&A and “The Collaboration“, a play featuring Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat at the Young Vic, the best of English acting! I also loved going to Dulwich to visit my goddaughter’s new house … Read More
Saint Exupéry’s “Le Petit Prince”, lands at MAD at last
Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry (1940-1944), is the book most translated in the world after the Bible. Over a 140 millon copies have been sold in 301 languages and dialects. An encounter with his young hero is organized at MAD, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, with over 600 books, photographs, drawings and letters featuring Saint Ex’ airplanes, books … Read More
In Senlis, contemporary art takes over at Fondation Francès
You might remember the extraordinary exhibition of ceramic sculptures by Cat Loray at Ivry sur Seine last year? I was totally overwhelmed by this artist who happens to live near Senlis with her husband Clément Borderie, also an artist, who creates canvases which are “tinted” by time and nature in the open. Estelle and Hervé Francès, started Fondation Francès to … Read More
A formidable Jean Hélion is revealed at Alain Margaron
Jean Hélion (1904-1987), had a long career full of adventures, (4) marriages, and life in the thirties and forties in America. Alain Margaron, who has patiently collected his paintings from different members of his family, is showing a little known decade of his works, forty canvases painted between 1955 and 1966. What struck me is the variety of styles, between … Read More
Gonzague Mézin revives precious gilt bronze in Geneva
I met Gonzague Mézin years ago at an exhibition of his works at MAD within the fabulous show of Pierre Gouthière‘s gilt bronze objects and furniture. This young man (he turned 40 the day after his opening), has revived the art of gilt bronze with contemporary creations like straw marqueterie, “luminophilie”, ceramics and lacquer. His precious exhibition at Espace Muraille … Read More
Whistler came from the Frick to Orsay in minimal form
I was overexcited by the announcement of the Frick collection’s James McNeill Whistler chefs d’oeuvre coming to Musée d’Orsay for three months and if you are too, don’t rush. The exhibition is minimal with four paintings, three pastels and a few more prints of Venice. And you probably know most of them anyway. The other disappointment was that Christophe Leribault, the … Read More
In Evian, “Bébé” Bérard revives grand old times
My taxi driver in Evian, Nicolas Fleury, who is on the American football team, holder of the French national title, had never heard of Christian Bérard even though large adds promoting the new exhibition are all over town. But this energetic man, who was raised in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, could not stop talking about what a wonderful town … Read More