Heidi Ellison
Warhol Unlimited
The Appropriator Reappropriated
Some artists are so well known that it seems almost pointless to do yet another straight-forward exhibition of their work. But those big names bring in the bucks, so curators scrape around for new exhibition angles. For Picasso, the Grand … Read More
Picasso Mania
‘Sortoffabulous’ White Male Painter
Overheard at the exhibition “Picasso Mania” at the Grand Palais: American man to American woman as he points to an erotic etching: “Do you recognize this?” Woman (looking bored): “No.” Man: “It’s on your breakfast plate every morning.” The extent … Read More
Taxi Jaune, Pramil, Monjul
Not the Latest Thing, But Still the Best TAXI JAUNE, PRAMIL AND MONJUL ARE NOW CLOSED. It doesn’t seem fair that only new restaurants get reviews in the press, so last week I went back to three old favorites, all … Read More
Right Bank Closed to Traffic?
Paris Update What’s New in Paris RIGHT BANK: TRAFFIC BEGONE! It’s a step in the right direction. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants to ban motor-vehicle traffic from a stretch of the Right Bank as of August 2016 and turn it … Read More
Fatima
Pain That Can’t Be Seen
Fatima, directed by Philippe Faucon, is a film that speaks softly as it opens a door on a world rarely seen on the screen: that of two generations of a family of Algerian immigrants in France. Fatima (Soria Zeroual) lives … Read More
Suzanne Valadon, Maurice Utrillo, André Utter
Making Art and Love in Montmartre
The life of Suzanne Valadon (1865-1938) is the stuff of Montmartre legend. An artist’s model, she got pregnant at the age of 18, father unknown (as was her own). An artist friend, Miguel Utrillo, agreed to give his name to … Read More
Coretta
Dining with the King Family
The owners of the restaurant Neva are staking out their gourmet territory in a previously neglected neighborhood in northern Paris right next to the Martin Luther King Park. They have had the good grace to name their new restaurant Coretta, after the civil rights hero’s wife.
La Bourse et la Vie
A New Flower in the Budding Rose Empire
When I heard that Daniel Rose, chef/owner of Spring, had opened a new, lower-priced bistro, La Bourse et la Vie, in Paris, I couldn’t wait to try it, but despaired of being able to get a reservation at any time in the near future, given the great difficulties I have had in the past booking a table at Spring.
Rosemary
French Gastropub Can’t Beat the British
Believe it or not, I have eaten at three different restaurants at this address in as many years. Normally that would seem to indicate a curse on the space, but the other evening Rosemary had quite a good crowd, in spite of the fact that it serves “English” food, commonly reviled by the French.
Cinéma Le Méliès. Montreuil
The People’s Cinema This could only happen in a suburb of Paris with a Communist mayor (former mayor Jean-Pierre Brard): In need of more cinema screens for local residents, the city of Montreuil effectively shut out two large film distributors … Read More