SHARING WITH ME

On Monday I was looking at an Art Application on the iPhone. What to go and see? As is often the case at the « Rentrée » as we call it here - back to school/work or what have you, not too much opens at the beginning of September, more like mid September. Then I had a minor brain wave. Let’s just go and wander around in the Louvre. I have been in France for nearly 45 years and must have been to the Louvre as often or even more times and yet, I’ve always gone with the purpose of seeing something in particular. This time it would be without a purpose - and that is rare for me. Of course there was one. The Winged Victory of Samothrace It was unveiled in July 2014 after nearly a year of restoration. The stairway where she was shown in all her glory has looked very empty all that time. This monumental statue of the winged goddess of victory (also known as the Nike of Samothrace), standing in the prow of a ship set on a low plinth, was offered to the great gods of

No title - 2006 Valerie Belin is also a photographer which made me feel uneasy. In between Milan, the Palais du Tokyo with the Thai artist and now Valerie, I seem to be looking at work which is not so easy to digest. The question which one can ask, is what causes the latent unease produced by her photographs ? Could it be that the mannequins look like real people in shop windows or the disturbingly fixed expressions of the faces turns them into genuine people. No title - 2004 No title - 2004 Is it Michael Jackson? Is it someone else we know? Michael Jackson? The photos left me in a state of uncertainty. They are uncanny, mannequins, stereotypes. There is nothing reassuring about them at all…..what do you think? No title - 2006 No title - 2006 BOB, 2012 BOB, 2012 Before you answer, just a few words about her. She is French, born in 1964 and after her studies at the Sorbonne, now works and lives in Paris. I’m gl

It took me more than a day to feel a little less desolate. As exciting as the Juan Munoz exhibition had been, the silence (which normally I love) and those figures continued to haunt me. My mind had to be changed, pushed into another direction. Of course you know what I do - I go to an exhibition. This time around it would be the Palais du Tokyo. Laurent and Jerome had been there a couple of weeks earlier and had spoken about Patrick Neu’s work. As soon as Jerome had sent me over a picture, I knew who he was and wanted to see more. He’s a very experimental artist and works with materials not often found in the art world. Oh by the way, he is French and was born in 1963. He uses bee’s wax, lampblack on crystal glass and many other strange bits and pieces. Every Spring since the early 90’s he has painted irises with frilly dark purple flowers. They are both sensual and mournful. Look more closely and once again you see faces and animals and all sorts of things….I wouldn’t mind one of