British artist Tacita Dean (born 1965) and German artist Gudrun Von Maltzan (born 1941) have nothing in common in their style but they both admire trees and I just happened to see both their exhibitions this week. The respect they show for very special trees is interesting. Tacita is at Bourse du Commerce and at Opéra Garnier with her decors … Read More
Louvre-Lens has another great show on Landscapes
It’s always a wonderful adventure to drive to Louvre Lens, because the building designed by SANAA is extraordinary and the exhibition of the Louvre treasures on 3000 square m is visible in one look. Over 5 000 years of objects, sculptures and paintings are shown in the Gallery of Time from the Egyptians to Napoleon in an easy, accessible and … Read More
Don’t miss this month…
With the beautiful weather and nature finally waking up, here are a few ideas for you to wander outside of Paris. The usual beautiful spots like Parc de Bagatelle, in Bois de Boulogne and Giverny’s Monet gardens (where Hugues Gall has been reelected director), are of course a must if you have never been. But I discovered recently the Parc … Read More
Here and there, news from the art front
Avenue Matignon continues its fast ascension in becoming the modern and contemporary art destination for all the collectors who can’t be bothered to get stuck in traffic on their way to the Marais. And the White Cube gallery, which is discreetly housed on the second floor of an Hausmannian building at n°10, is showing a completely unknown-to-the French American artist, … Read More
In Sceaux the chateau and the park are a discovery
I had been trying to visit Château de Sceaux for many years but always ended up being there at the wrong time. It only opens at 1 pm while the park opens very early and is incredibly busy with joggers and retired couples who walk energetically with sticks. The occasion of the visit was a small exhibition of photographs (some … Read More
Hangar Y is Frédéric Jousset’s latest coup
One does not often travel to Meudon, a very royal suburb of Paris, which had a direct road to Versailles in the times of Louis XIV, when minister Louvois owned it. Frédéric Jousset, a successful French financier, has invested the Hangar Y which used to be a storage fro dirigibles in teh 19 th century, and is turning it into … Read More
Musée Bourdelle had a serious facelift and it’s successful
The garden was awakening and the first pink magnolias were in bloom to celebrate the 5 million € renovation of Musée Bourdelle, the house and studio where the turn-of-the century sculptor trained so many famous artists such as Giacometti and Germaine Richier. The architect Bertrand Naut has done an extraordinary job or consolidation of the foundations and restoration of the house … Read More
Chambord, Chenonceau, Cheverny, the Loire Valley is still fantastic.
An English friend wanted to visit the castles of the Loire Valley. And I had not been for so long that I decided to drive her to three major places, very near each other, and an easy journey from Paris. You can even do it in one day if you like. So we started with Chambord, in grey weather and … Read More