Don’t be deterred by the show of Zanele Muholi, the 50 year old South African photographer, just because she only shoots black lesbians and transgenders. At first it sounds provocative and tedious, but her portraits are so strong that you start forgetting her political activism and you enjoy just the beauty of the shots. At the opening at Maison Européenne de … Read More
Another fabulous week in Paris!
Théâtre des Champs Elysées is the most cherished place by Parisians for concerts and operas at the moment. It is easily accessible, the theatre is a beauty opened in 1913, and the productions of extreme quality. This is where we can see Offenbach’s la Périchole at the moment and until November 28, in a production by Laurent Pelly with Marc Minkowski … Read More
A double bill at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson starts Paris photo week
Friday night was a major evening at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson rue des Archives, when privileged guests could discover the new premises after two years of renovation and with two exhibitions. Jan Groover, the long lost American photographer who loved France, on the main floor, and downstairs, in the new vaulted gallery, “Henri Cartier-Bresson /Martin Parr, the Reconciliation”. The reason everyone … Read More
At MAD, the 1980’s reign
Former minister of culture Jack Lang was visiting the exhibition with a following of admirers and I am glad I started the visit in reverse, escaping all the politics of the Mitterrand years which are the prologue to the show. Instead, I immediately ran into the heart of the subject, the craziness in design, fashion and advertising of the 1980’s … Read More
At Maison Européenne de la Photo, Boris Mikhaïlov brings back a Ukrainian past
Born in 1938, in Kharkiv, photographer Boris Mikhaïlov is considered as one of the most influential Eastern European artist today. The fact that he is Ukrainian obviously adds a dramatic note to the exhibition “Ukrainian Journal” curated by Laurie Hurwitz at MEP (Maison europécnne de la photo) until January 15. For the last fifty years he has documented the collapse … Read More
The Wadsworth Atheneum museum in Hartford is a must
As a member of Frame (French American museum exchange) the Wadsworth Atheneum is on the list of the most excellent “provincial” museums in America and I could not skip a visit there since my last encounter with its galleries dated back to 2017. I went with art historian Cynthia Saltzman whose latest book “Plunder” on Napoleon’s love for Veronese!!! is … Read More
Henri Cartier Bresson in Paris and John Stewart in Saint Rémy
Many landscapes unite John Stewart (1919-2017) and Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), who both liked spending the summers near Apt and had developed a strong professional friendship during their long lives. In Paris, Fondation HCB is presenting a series of landscapes in “l’Expérience du paysage”, before a new 100 square m space opens in November with a Martin Parr-HCB exhibition. The 70 … Read More
Germany in the Twenties, and August Sander at Centre Pompidou
The exhibition at Centre Pompidou of “Germany 1920’s, New Objectivity, August Sander” is so wide that one could have split it in two to make it more digestible with its 900 pictures. It presents overlapping narratives of post WWI years and has fantastic art and photographs. It is worth going, with a lot time at hand and a calm mood… … Read More