A very personal and subjective view of Paris life for all of you who are curious of what's going on in France

Albert Edelfelt, “Young boys playing on the beach”, 1884, Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum. Photo Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen at Petit Palais on March 10.

January is always an exciting month with New Year’s resolutions and all the projected goodies of the Spring and the Summer. Here are a few cultural ideas for the next months. Two exhibitions of turn of the century Finnish painters in March should please the charming Finnish ambassador in Paris, Teemu Tanner: Akseli Gallen-Kalella (1865-1931), at Musée Jacquemart André and Albert Edelfelt at Petit Palais, a show around painter Rosa Bonheur, 1822-1899, in May in Bordeaux and later in September at Musée d’Orsay. Quite a number of contemporary artists in traditional museums, like Markus Lüpertz in Orléans, Ange Leccia on March 2 at l’Orangerie, and a Monet-Rothko encounter at Musée des Impressionnismes in Giverny. A large celebration of Yves Saint Laurent who celebrates his 60 th anniversary, at Musée d’Orsay, Centre Pompidou and Musées Picasso. This month, the opera of “Hamlet” by Ambroise Thomas is back at Opéra Comique conducted by Louis Langrée who is also the new director. And the Haitian pictures of African American photographer Ozier Muhammad at Galerie Sophie Sheidecker. Read More

Notre Dame de Paris, 1908

Galerie de la Présidence survives in front of the Elysée Palace and surrounded by police and security fences, and it is even celebrating its 50 th anniversary. When you have the good idea of ringing the bell, Florence Chibret-Plaussu opens with a smile. She and her mother, Françoise, have been collecting paintings by Albert Marquet (1875-1947) for years and some of them could already be seen at Musée d’Art moderne in the large retrospective of the artist, five years ago. In their three floor gallery, it is a festival of greys and bright colors, and my devotion for this painter was entirely fulfilled by the variety of 26 paintings exhibited, from Paris to Algiers and Marseille. The show is on until January 29 and you will be surprised!Read More

Die Asche der Brünnen im Akra, (ashes from Akra’s well), 2021, © Anselm Kiefer, Photo Georges Poncet

When I met him at Daniel Templon’s decoration, Jean Michel Wilmotte, the architect of Grand Palais Ephémère, advised me to go and visit the Anselm Kiefer “For Paul Celan” show, around 4 pm to get the best light of the day. Unfortunately it was raining when I went last Monday but I understood why the light was so important in the exhibition which takes over the 10 000 square meters of the temporary building on the Champ de Mars. This is probably the safest art gallery in Paris at the moment, and there are no lines! Fifteen years after his installation for Documenta at Grand Palais in 2007, Anselm Kiefer has become the most celebrated German artist in Paris. He created a specific work for the Panthéon a year ago and was chosen by President Macron as one of the works to open the French Presidence of the European Union this January 1, thus celebrating the Franco German relation. The artists works in France, in Croissy. Read More

Guy And Nhan Duc in front of Parlour of wishes, 2021, photo Enzo Orlando

There are always surprises at Musée Guimet, and this time it was Duy Anh Nhan Duc, a Vietnamese botanical artist who is showing on the top floor a series of sculptures and installations made with dandelion seeds. He takes us on a three part journey with a triptych which leads us to dream and poetry. Born in 1983 in Ho Chi Minh City, he now lives in Paris and works with nature, endlessly gathering plants such as dandelions, salsify, thistles, wheat and clover which he transforms into delicate art. He delivers a dialogue with plants and captures their fragility. In the lower galleries, the mysterious country of Tajikistan is revisited with its little known archeological sites and enchanting buddhas.Read More

In the Galleria, Eva Jospin fills the space with a large mural and a tunnel full of surprises at Musée de la Chasse

Musée de la Chasse has been closed for renovations for two years, its fabulous director Claude d’Anthenaise has retired,  and Eva Jospin’s exhibit throughout the museum and in the Galleria downstairs is the perfect momentum for its reopening. Children and parents are forming a huge crowd outside and inside the Hotel de Mongelas in the Marais, and I found it difficult to figure out the story behind the artist’s precious cardboard sculptures. There are no cartels and no explanations.  But from having seen a few of her exhibitions at Galerie Tarasieve nearby, and more recently at Giverny’s  Museum of Impressionisms (until January 16), I just let myself be carried around with the crowds and enjoyed her new works immensely. You have time to see the show in Paris until March 20 th. Read More