Paris Update Art Notes
ART GALLERY AT SCHOOL
“Seasons in the Abyss.”
Artists’ residencies are common around the world, but it is perhaps rarer for an internationally renowned artist to donate his time to a grammar school. French artist Claude Lévêque accepted the invitation of the director of the Ecole Pierre Budin (5, rue Pierre Budin, 75018 Paris) in Paris’s Goutte d’Or neighborhood to stage an exhibition in the empty apartment above the school (which once housed its director) in tandem with a group of children, some of them acting as curators and others as artists, under his guidance. To find the objects for their installation, the artist and children went to a warehouse of unused school furniture
and an Emmaüs secondhand shop, and the kids brought in objects from home. The result is a charm-filled five-room show, “Seasons in the Abyss,” full of that Lévêque magic, but with a juvenile touch. Complete with atmospheric lighting and eerie sound effects, it features mistreated school furniture and toys and kitschy bric-a-brac put to new uses. Lévêque pronounced himself thrilled to work with children for the first time and to be inspired by their openness and imaginative powers. The public is welcome to visit during school hours, but best to call first: 01 46 06 21 49. Continues through July 3. Heidi Ellison
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