Walking into the first room of the Cy Twombly exhibition at Pompidou center was like entering a sacred temple. The emotion was immense and the pleasure doubled by the presence of many knowledgeable curators who talked brilliantly about his work. This retrospective of 140 paintings, photographs and sculptures was curated by Jonas Storsve and made possible by the Cy Twombly … Read More
Between Art and Fashion at Azzedine Alaïa
There are more than 2 000 photographs in Carla Sozzani’s collection but only 198 are shown here. Here, in the amazing gallery in the Marais, that Azzedine Alaïa has devoted to exhibitions. He used to offer his fashion défilés there and he lends it to fellow couturiers, but it has primarily become an entrance free exhibition space.
Paris Photo #20
There was something soothing about attending the opening of the 20 th edition of Paris Photo, one of my favourite art fairs. It was the day after… election day and everyone was groggy. Yet the calm and serenity of old and modern photographs helped. Beside the usual beautiful vintage photo booths, I discovered three remarkable photographers. Sacha Goldberger, a French … Read More
1930’s American paintings at Orangerie
“American painting in the 1930’s, the Age of Anxiety » seemed like the perfect topic to cover today, on Election day 2016. Never has the mood in France and in the US been so nervous during the week preceding the vote and the potential tsunami of Donald Trump’s election is setting back all the clocks. A beautiful exhibition of art … Read More
The magic and dark world of Oscar Wilde
It is a whole new world of literature and art that we enter in the small but beautiful show on Oscar Wilde at the Petit Palais. The world of a wonderful theater writer who started as a poet, an art critic and a lecturer in America, and was at the heart of artistic life at the turn of the century.
Napoléon III at Orsay
There could not be a better place than Musée d’Orsay for an exhibition on « Spectacular Second Empire », the lavish era of Napoléon the Third, the French equivalent of Victorian style. The show curated by Guy Coeval is elegantly set by Hubert le Gall and looks more like an antique dealers stand than an exhibition. It is a pleasure … Read More
Five days in New York
I did not understand why there were so many police cars arresting people on the way back from Newark airport where my Openskies perfect flight had landed. Traffic was unbearable on Sunday night and there could not have been any speeding ! Only the next day, did I read in the New York Times, that the New Jersey bomber had been … Read More
From Prague to Ottawa, Josef Sudek’s photos
There is something incredibly dark about Josef Sudek’s photography, but this survivor of the First World War and the Czech communist regime, is definitely admirable.