Picasso and the Comic Strip/Picasso the Poet
Outing Picasso's Inner Poet and Comic Artist
Picasso liked to read the funny papers, and one of his suppliers was none other than Gertrude Stein, who would save the “Katzenjammer Kids” and other comics for him from American newspapers. That’s just one of the many interesting facts … Read More
Ben: Être Libre
On a Bender
At the age of 85, the French artist Ben (real name: Benjamin Vautier) is as irrepressible as ever, both personally and artistically. Earlier this month, he was on hand to greet the press at the opening of his exhibition, “Être … Read More
Fondation Custodia: Three Exhibitions
Inside the Artist's Head
The Fondation Custodia, one of Paris’s under-appreciated treasures, was created by Frits Lugt (1884-1970), a Dutchman whose passion for art began when he was just a child: when he was only eight years old, he created and cataloged a museum … Read More
Les Gendarmes Crèvent l’Écran
Arresting Images of French Gendarmes
Melun is not the most beautiful town in France, but having spent New Year’s Eve there once, I can testify that it is home to some of the nicest people in the country. It is also home to the Musée … Read More
![Christian Louboutin: L’Exhibition[niste]](https://www.parisupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ParisUpdate-Louboutin-Still-Life-©-Jean-Vincent-Simonet-3.jpg "Christian Louboutin: L’Exhibition[niste]")
Christian Louboutin: L’Exhibition[niste]
Worshipping at the Church of Louboutin
After seeing the spectacular exhibition “Christian Louboutin: L’Exhibition[niste]” at Paris’s Palais de la Porte Dorée, I am convinced that Louboutin is a shoe-in for best footwear designer ever, and that he himself (judging by this show, he is no shrinking … Read More
La Force du Dessin: Chefs-d’Œuvre de la Collection Prat
On the Drawing Board
The new exhibition at the Petit Palais, “In the Drawing Room: Masterpieces from the Prat Collection,” takes us on a tour of drawings by French artists from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th, showing … Read More
Otto Freundlich: La Révélation de l’Abstraction
The Cosmic Bridge of Art
Imagine that you are an artist arriving in Paris for the first time in 1908. Right away, you are offered a studio in the Bateau Lavoir in Montmartre, where you immediately meet and befriend Pablo Picasso, followed by many of … Read More
Les Parisiens dans l’Exode
Refugees Without Refuge
Of all the horrors that occurred during World War II, the mass exodus from Paris in 1940 as the Germans approached the city may not have been the most horrendous, which may explain why the story has been so seldom … Read More
National Therapy by Peter Johansson
Demolishing National and Personal Demons
There are only a few days left to see “National Therapy by Peter Johansson” at the Institut Suédois. Dark yet very funny, the show, like all of Johansson’s work, casts a bemused eye on traditional Swedish symbols and stars the … Read More
Fluidités: L’Humain qui Vient
Far-out Visions for Humanity
Le Fresnoy–Studio National des Arts Contemporains, in the small city of Tourcoing just outside of Lille, is a hotspot where art and technology meet and merge. Its current exhibition, “Fluidités: L’Humain qui Vient,” gives 16 artists a chance to explore … Read More