Driving North into Flanders

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Abel Grimmer, “Interior of a cathedral with a mass for churching (relevailles) of a young mother”, 1589

After my successful tour of Brittany I decided to join a friend in Abbeville and explore the multiple museums of the north. Lille is well known for its Arts Museum and diverse peripheral curiosities like Robert Mallet Stevens’ Villa Cavrois,  La Piscine in Roubaix and Villeneuve d’Ascq’s Museum of Modern Art. But I have a weakness for Cassel, a little known town near the Belgian border, where big battles were won by Louis XIV and Napoléon. The pretty village sits on a hill with a view over the whole agricultural area. Wheat was being harvested and part of the joy on the road was to be stuck behind a moissonneuse-batteuse (combine harvester) and share the slow life of farmers. Read More

A priest brings glass sculptors to Heaven at MusVerre

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Bong Chull Shin, “I woke up with your name on my lips”, 2014, loan of the artist

It is a true expedition to reach MusVerre, near Maubeuge on the Belgian border, a half hour from Château de Chimay, three hours from Paris, an hour and a half from Brussels. The museum is dedicated to contemporary glass sculpture and was designed by W architectures and architect Raphaël Voinchet in 2016. It houses collections of “bousillés”, free works from the glassworkers of Sars-Poteries, which were collected by the local priest Louis Mériaux since 1958. This was the start of the museum, where he organized an International Glass symposium in 1982 and a Colloquium in 1984 which recognized contemporary glasswork worldwide. The collection of the museum is made of works given by the International group of sculptors who attended, from America and Japan,  Holland, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy, from Eastern Europe. Under the artistic leadership of Anne Vanlatum, who started her professional life at Musée des Arts Décoratifs,  Gigi and Marcel Burg  gave 86 works from their collection. She is the soul of the museum with a huge knowledge of the artists and their glass techniques.Read More

In Rennes, an exceptional museum with initiative

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Antoine Coysevox, “Triumph of France over the seas”, 1692-1693, (detail)

Visiting Rennes’s Musée des Beaux Arts had been on my mind for a long time, but for some reason, one never stops in the capital of Brittany and it is a major mistake. This time, the opportunity of meeting Guillaume Kazerouni, the man in charge of its ancient arts collections, convinced me. This impish hyperactive scholar, has a reputation of positively upsetting the art world and I was not disappointed! He is one of the rare exceptions in France to be running an art department in a major museum, without being a titled curator. Born in Iran, he emigrated at 11 and has worked in multiple arts venues, at the Louvre and at the Sorbonne, editing books and writing many scholarly articles. He has started a communication campaign called “Et si on parlait d’art” (why not talk about art) where he picked 34 shops in Rennes and asked their owner to choose an artwork in the museum. It’s a winner/winner project, especially since entrance to the Museum is free.

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Wandering around precious Brittany

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The citadel in Port Louis near Lorient, where the Musée de la Compagnie des Indes is housed

There is nothing I love more than getting into my small car and driving around France, stopping over at dear friend’s houses. The Bottin Mondain (social register) started a new addition of castles listed by area, and it would be tempting to just try and tour France according to this list but I have not dared it yet. I just spent ten days in Brittany and it was enchanting. Not only because the sun was setting at 10 pm allowing for long dinners outside, but also because of the brisk air, the fabulous shellfish and pancakes, and the huge sense of hospitality of Bretons, which make it a real holiday. So here is the itinerary I recommend.Read More

Do you like pepper? Try it at Bernard du 15…near Beaugrenelle

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Bernard Sellin is obsessed with pepper which he tracks all over the world

If you find yourself near Beaugrenelle, in this dreary area where shopping malls reign supreme, don’t hesitate to stop at Bernard du 15, a restaurant on rue des Entrepreneurs which specializes in pepper. Some cost 240 € a kilo! and they come from all over the world. From Ahom in India, Sarawak in Malaysia, or Likouala in Congo. Kerala, Lampong, Cameroun, Malabar or Madagascar. With a modestly priced menu at 28€, you get to travel all over the world and taste new flavors. Read More

At MAD, an explosion of drawings

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Bénédicte Gady, curator of the show, in front of Jean Souverbie’s model for the staircase of Théâtre National de Chaillot, 1937

When Bénédicte Gady, head of graphic arts at MAD, announced two years ago that they were opening up the department of drawings to the public, a small group of collectors congratulated her politely just before Salon du Dessin. At the time, the Getty Foundation offered to pay for a full time researcher, Sarah Catala, to help her. Today, with the determination of Olivier Gabet, director of MAD, this has become a reality. Partly thanks to the generosity of a few drawing lovers who paid for the restoration of the large works, the show “Le Dessin sans réserve” (Drawing limits), has just opened quietly at the museum and she was nice enough to take me around, pointing to the most important discoveries that were made in the collection of 200 000 documents. Yes, two hundred thousand, can you believe it? This is more than the Louvre and Orsay together… and most of them had never been shown to the public.

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Giorgio de Chirico at Museum of Modern Art, MAM

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Cavallo e zebra, 1948

I was very frustrated to enter the Museum of Modern art of the city of Paris and to be told that no, the Victor Brauner exhibition was not opening until September 18… So I went in anyway, to walk around the permanent collection (which is free) and I had a wonderful surprise. The Giorgio de Chirico room with  eight or nine of his masterpieces which are part of the collection of 61 given by his widow Isabella Pakszwer de Chirico‘ heirs, in 2011. It is exceptional.

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At Louvre Lens, Black is the winning color

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The permanent exhibition of treasures from the Louvre is tantalizing in this modern space

The Louvre Lens is a place I try to visit every year and their program of exhibitions is rich enough to justify the 2 hour and a half drive from Paris (1.30 on the train). Their new show is devoted to “Black Suns, from Egypt to Soulages” and its diversity is very exciting. I was almost alone at 10.30 and loved the way the garden has grown around the steel and glass building designed by SANAA, the Japanese architects. The permanent gallery filled with  treasures from the Louvre is incredibly intimate and happy.

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