Barbara Hepworth
Forgotten in France: A Great British Sculptor
At the press opening of the Musée Rodin‘s exhibition of the work of Barbara Hepworth (1903-75), not one but two journalists, one French and the other Canadian, told me they had never heard of the great modernist British sculptor before … Read More
Courbet/Hodler: Une Rencontre
Courbet Country
Any fan of the painter Gustave Courbet (1819-77) will relish the drive from Besançon to his hometown of Ornans in eastern France, near the Swiss border. You may even feel like a tiny figure in one of his luxuriant landscape … Read More
Peter Hujar: Speed of Life
Resurrecting the Chronicler of a Certain Time and Place
Photographer Peter Hujar (1934-87) lived in the best of times and the worst of times for a gay man. The heady days of the Gay Liberation movement, which took off after the Stonewall riots of 1969, were followed only a … Read More
Greco
In a Manner of Painting
The first time I saw an exhibition of El Greco’s paintings, I thought they were profoundly weird and incomprehensible, but over time I have grown to love them and seek them out in the museums I visit. Now we can … Read More
La Beauté du Geste
The Artisan's Touch
One of Paris’s oft-forgotten treasures is the Sèvres National Ceramics Museum and Manufactory, where precious Sèvres porcelain is still made and a collection of centuries’ worth of ceramics from around the world is on show. To inaugurate its new Savoir-faire … Read More
Susumu Shingu: Une Utopie d’Aujourd’hui
To Catch the Wind
The view of the Château de Chambord from the near distance is spectacular, but the sight of Susumu Shingu’s white kinetic sculptures moving silently in the breeze like abstract swans swimming on the moat turns it into pure magic. Beyond … Read More
Charlotte Perriand: Inventing a New World
A Happy Meeting of Art and Design
“Charlotte Perriand: Inventing a New World” is one of the most spectacular and ambitious exhibitions held to date at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. It is also the first to make such full use of the various spaces – ranging in … Read More
Le Rêveur de la Forêt
Out of the Woods
The Musée Zadkine, one of my favorite places in Paris, is tucked away at the end of an alley near the Luxembourg Garden. The small museum, the former home and studio of sculptor Ossip Zadkine (1888-1967), is a peaceful haven … Read More
The World According to Roger Ballen
Chaos Rules!
American Photographer Roger Ballen does not have a very uplifting outlook on life. “Who’s the boss?“ he asked rhetorically at the press opening of the exhibition “The World According to Roger Ballen” at the Halle Saint Pierre. “Chaos!” he answered … Read More
Trees
Large Protagonists of the Living World
Trees are trending at the moment, with new discoveries about their ability to communicate with and help each other and even other species, and their importance to the environment the subjects of many publications. In any case, everyone loves trees, … Read More