Posted Sep 29, 2022, 10:37 AMUpdated on Sep 29, 2022 at 10:57
From Paris to Lyon, via Florence, an overview of this season’s key exhibitions. On the program: games of illusion, an immersive dive and a surprising dialogue between two artists with identical obsessions.
The thousand facets of still life
The art historian Laurence Bertrand-Dorléac leans, thanks to the plethoric collections of the Louvre, on a neglected subject: the still life. From masterpieces by Manet or Chardin to ready-mades by Duchamp that have become references, exploration of a living art that tells the story of inanimate objects.
From October 12 to January 23, louvre.fr/
The abundant Lyon Biennale
It is one of the most popular events in French contemporary art. With 200 artists from all eras spread over no less than twelve sites, this major event, which this year trumpets the beauty of fragility, highlights Beirut’s battered and remarkable artistic history. But also finally a certain aesthetics of ruin, a reflection of the decline of our society.
Until December 31, labiennaledelyon.com/
Monet-Mitchell, the dialogue
To understand the history of art is also to understand that artists, over time, may have had identical obsessions. This is the case of the impressionist Claude Monet and the abstract expressionist painter Joan Mitchell who both use and dilute color in dominant greens, yellows and blues to transcribe the sublime aquatic landscapes of the Vexin, from Vétheuil to Giverny.
From October 5 to February 27, foundationlouisvuitton.fr/
Fussli, the fantastic
In the 19th century, this Swiss theater enthusiast moved to London to be at the heart of Shakespeare’s plays, whose dramas are the main inspiration for his paintings. Filled with gods, witches and evil spirits, these works tell in a spectacular way the invisible forces at work, thus announcing symbolism and surrealism.
Until January 23, museum-jacquemart-andre.com/fr
Fussli, the fantastic at the Jacquemart-André museum.MICHEL GINIES/SIPA
Munch beyond the “Cry”
The Norwegian, an immense colorist, was obsessed with certain subjects such as the frightening power of women and the death of young children, which he painted and repainted. His goal: to inhabit his characters and even his landscapes with a strong psychology. But his famous “Scream” is only represented in Paris by a colored engraving.
Until January 22, musee-orsay.fr/fr/agenda/exhibitions/edvard-munch-un-poeme-de-vie-damour-et-de-mort
Discover Kokoschka
He is classed as an expressionist but, in France, we know very little about the Viennese Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), described by the Nazis as a degenerate artist, who lived in Prague and ended his days in Switzerland. An astonishing and unclassifiable painting which is reminiscent of the deliberately grotesque verve of certain contemporary figurative artists but also that of Magritte during his Renoir period.
Until February 12, mam.paris.fr/
Discovering Oskar Kokoschka at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris.Thomas SAMSON / AFP
Olafur Eliasson or contemplative art
The superstar Icelandic-Danish artist, who was the subject of a major exhibition at the Fondation Vuitton in Paris in 2015, has invented a unique vocabulary that plays with light and the elements to create illusions. He shows his new experiments at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, always with an ecological message in mind. A contemplative exhibition.
Until January 22, palazzostrozzi.org/archivio/mostre/olafur-eliasson
Immersive dive in the heart of Venice
Against all odds, the new initiative of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux, the Grand Palais Immersive, in the basement of the Bastille opera house, is a success. “Venice revealed” shows in an impressive environment the Serenissima, both globally and in detail, with many interactive applications. Entertaining and instructive.
Until February 19, grandpalais.fr/fr/evenement/venise-revelee
The unique photography of Boris Mikhaïlov
He is one of the major artists of Ukraine. Boris Mikhaloiv (born in 1938 in Kharkiv) produces a multifaceted art that uses photography. Documentary photography, conceptual photography. Realism and farce… A very rich and multi-faceted production championed very early in France by the Suzanne Tarasiève gallery, which is also exhibiting it from October 13 to November 17.
Until January 15, mep-fr.org/event/boris-mikhailov/ / suzanne-tarasieve.com/
