Claudia Andujar, Opiki thëri group in Ajarani, 1984
The exhibition at Fondation Cartier is, once again, more political than artistic. But some of you might be interested to discover the fight led by the Yanomami people in North Western Brazil and Venezuela. And thanks to Claudia Andujar, the Brazilian photographer born (Claudine Haas) in Switzerland in 1931, who fled Europe and her father’s extermination in Dachau, we can discover part of their story. “The Yanomami Struggle” is on until May 10.
This sign at Palais de la Porte Dorée in the 1970’s started Louboutin’s career
When he was a little boy, Christian Louboutin wondered why his three older sisters were blond while he was so tanned. He only discovered a few years ago that his mother had an affair and his father was Egyptian, not from Brittany… Is it this Oriental influence that gave him a genius for creating shoes that are universally loved, and transformed his last name into a common name like Kleenex or iPhone? The large celebration at Palais de la Porte Dorée, “L’Exhibition(niste)” curated by Olivier Gabet, is a true feast, an explosion of imagination and of generosity. For his first large show in France, he asked all his friends to create glass windows, videos, paintings, installations (Stéphane Bern is even part of a television show) around his famous shoes, which are presented as true sculptures. The former Musée des Colonies has never looked so happy and crowds will certainly rush there like they did to the Christian Dior show at MAD. So do not loose any time!Read More
Gedwin Nabuya, “Across White Waters”, 2019
When she moved to her new gallery in the 11th, Anne de Villepoix made a brave change and she was right because her space is spectacular. She has developed a group of contemporary African artists who are all interesting and in parallel with the exhibition “L’Afrique Fantôme” (Phantomatic Africa) which presents them in Lyon at Manifesta until April 3, she shows her twenty best artists at home. I did not love everyone but here are my favorites.Read More
Siemen Dijskstra, “Through the Uitbuizer Wad n°2, Oude Westereems”, 2011, collection of the artist, photo Bert de Vries
The lead exhibition at Fondation Custodia was advertised as “Studi & Schizzi”, Italian drawings from 1450 to 1700, and this is what Frits Lugt‘s exceptional collection is all about. Thousands of classical drawings collected until his death in Paris in July 1970. A group of exceptional drawings, which are now progressively put online for the researchers’ benefit and the first 600 pieces can already be consulted. I searched for Leonardo and found 15 drawings! But what took me by surprise this time, is the series of wood prints by Siemen Dijkstra, a 50 year old artist from the North of the Nederlands, who lives in the woods and creates the most singular drawings and large prints.Read More
Hugo Vickers with Lady Holmes at the British Embassy
British Ambassador Lord Llewellyn was on school vacation with his three young children but this did not deter Parisian book lovers to attend Hugo Vickers‘ conference and book signing at the beautiful residence once inhabited by Pauline Borghese. Former Ambassadress Lady Holmes, back in Paris, was in attendance and the tragic life of Gladys Deacon, duchess of Marlborough, was the focus of the evening. First published in 1979 by the young biographer who had visited Gladys 65 times at the St Andrews Hospital in Northampton, the book was completed and published again last January with a French translation coming out this week. “The Sphinx” is the extraordinary story of a young American heiress born in 1881 in a Paris hotel, who decided very young that she would become a duchess. She only managed this at the age of 40 when she moved into Bernheim Palace, after the 9 th Duke had divorced Consuelo Vanderbilt.
At 8 rue de Lille, La Calèche has a supreme position to attract the well-to-do
You might remember reading here two years ago about the delightful pizzeria “Marzo” on rue Paul Louis Courrier which was run by Pandora Pearson. It had a happy atmosphere, the food was excellent and one left the premises with a light heart. It still exists but Pandora has moved on, not too far, to rue de Lille where she took over, with her associate Jean Baptiste Varenne, the old La Calèche which definitely needed a clean up. The old beams have been painted white, the bar serves as a counter and the modern decoration with a soft lighting at night is cheerful. Read More
In Oisan above the village of La Grave, Hautes Alpes, ca 1931
In the large Charlotte Perriand exhibition at Fondation Louis Vuitton, I spotted a few powerful photographs and my curiosity was aroused. So as soon as I heard of the new show at Institut de France, I rushed and was happy to visit the very elegant place with the curator Lélia Wanick Salgado and the architect’s daughter, Pernette Perriand-Barsac who worked with her mother until her death in 1999. The 48 photographs selected in the family archives by Lélia, are each individually interesting for their shape and their sharpness. She worked hard at restoring the negatives and used her experience with her husband Sebatião Salgado‘s numerous books an exhibitions, to create a gallery of exceptional prints by Dupon-Phidap.Read More
Annette Messager, Sleeping heart, 2019, courtesy Marian Goodman gallery
Since Daniel Marchesseau and his team composed of Catherine de Bourgoing and Jérôme Godeau left Musée de la Vie Romantique, George Sand’s charming house in the 9 th arrondissement has lost its soul and the exhibition “Hearts, from Romanticism to contemporary art” is not going to restore it. Opened on Valentine day, it tries very hard to inject some passion in the beautiful Ary Scheffer studio with 40 contemporary works which have nothing in common. Pierre et Gilles, Annette Messager, Jim Dine, Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Michel Othoniel are all very respectable artists but hanging their works in the middle of the 19 th century delightful museum does not make any sense. Read More