Grand Palais
Grander Than Ever
It may have taken five long years, but the revamped Grand Palais, now completely reopened, is nothing if not grand, even grandiose. The always spectacular glass-domed ceiling is as beautiful and awe-inspiring as always, and new areas have recently been … Read More
The Nahmad Collection: From Monet to Picasso
Distributing Beauty
Planning a visit to Giverny to see Monet’s home and famous lily-padded garden? Spare a thought and a little energy for a side trip to another attraction in the same village: the Musée des Impressionismes Giverny, whose temporary exhibitions and … Read More
BAP! Biennale d’Architecture et de Paysage
Design for a Changing Climate
For the next couple of months, the quiet architectural harmony of the château and city of Versailles – built of beige pierre de taille (Paris cut stone) – will be disrupted by splashes of brilliant taxi-cab yellow, the color of … Read More
David Hockney 25
Unstoppable Hockney
One advantage of being possibly the most famous living artist and having reached the grand old age of 87 is that the world gets to see retrospectives of your work at regular intervals. So is it worth making the effort … Read More
Frank Bowling: Collage
Welcome to Paris!
It’s always heartwarming when a long-ignored artist has a moment in the sun while still alive – for so many. it comes too late. It is even more important today: just when things were starting to look up for forgotten … Read More
Réespiration
Breathing in Unison
Sometimes the most interesting exhibitions are held in the strangest places. A couple of weeks ago, I received an intriguing invitation to see a new “immersive” work of art in, of all places, the pulmonology department of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. I … Read More
Mélodies en Sous-sol: Expérience Pommery #18
Subterranean Sounds and Sights
The house of champagne Domaine Vranken-Pommery has been holding annual contemporary art exhibitions in its magnificent cellars deep in the earth for over 20 years now. This year, it has added something extra to this stellar event – sound – … Read More
Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles
Womb to Tomb
After years of closure for renovation work, the Grand Palais finally reopened the space under its monumental glass dome last summer for Olympic events and this winter for an enormously successful ice-skating rink during the holiday season. Now its first … Read More
Surréalisme
Sisters in Surrealism (and Some Men)
The Centre Pompidou couldn’t pass up a chance to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the Surrealist manifesto for one of its last blockbuster exhibitions before it shuts down for a major renovation (from summer 2025 to 2030). The museum has … Read More
Fondation Arp
Suburban Hideout for Swiss Dadaists
The sculptor and poet Jean Arp (1886-1966) may be best known to English-language cruciverbalists (yes, it’s a word, referring to a skilled crossword-puzzle solver) for his three-letter last name, which provides convenient fill for awkward gaps in a crossword grid, … Read More