Classical exhibitions The Venice Biennale has become such an important moment in the global art calendar that countless events now congregate around it. They tend to be of a more classical nature than those at the national pavilions and the...
Modern and contemporary art auctions in New York: why so many records?
Death Who wants to part with their masterpieces? No one. That’s why the biggest art market records, generally obtained for absolutely outstanding works, are the fruit of forced and unhappy circumstances: death and divorce. This is primarily the way in which the...
Venice Biennale (1):The two Golden Lions talk
90 countries The Venice Biennale is the most highly anticipated contemporary art show in the world. It can provide a platform for not only the most in-demand artists but also – and this is very much part of its charm – for complete unknowns, as can be seen in...
New York sales: where the art market collides the art history
Specialized in nudity Young boys and girls disrobe to dance a graceful saraband in a composition over six metres long. In 1884, the then famous French painter William Bouguereau (1825-1905), who specialized in nudity under mythological pretexts, created what he...
Fondation Carmignac: Maurizio Cattelan meets Sarah Lucas on a little paradise island
Porquerolles Last year saw the opening of a contemporary art foundation on the island of Porquerolles, a nature reserve off the coast of Hyères, the brainchild of Parisian financier Edouard Carmignac whom we met last year (cf report) Sea of desire...
Theaster Gates: the great preacher of contemporary art is at the Palais de Tokyo
Theaster Gates in public To understand Theaster Gates (born in 1973) you must first have the opportunity to see him in public. He’s charged with electricity, volcanic. A star in Chicago A compact form propelling itself through space. The Chicago-based artist,...
Venice Biennale: a preview interview with the curator Ralph Rugoff
the race towards gigantism In a world where the offerings of various contemporary art festivals are flourishing across the globe, there’s one way to stand out from the crowd, and that is in the race towards gigantism. To fill the spaces This quest would suggest...
Wim Wenders talks about Notre Dame, fate, images in the digital age and his project at the Grand Palais
Part of the cinema history Whatever our areas of interest, we can agree that Wim Wenders (born in 1945) is now a part of the cinema history. There are flashes of Wenders inscribed in our collective memory, like the red mohair dress matching Nastassja...
Thomas Houseago: a self-portrait of the artist completed by his pals Brad Pitt and Flea
Brad Pitt's poetry The story could begin with a few poetic sentences from Brad Pitt: “He walks right by, though he doesn’t see (me)- Shapes and obsessions block his view. He disappears into his cavern, for yet another round. (…) What does it mean to lay oneself...
KAWS mania: the designer selling for 14.8 million dollars is supported by the Arte Povera theoretician Germano Celant
Emmanuel Perrotin “The first time someone stole a piece of art from me it was a work by Kaws, two small paintings from my gallery in Miami ten years ago,” says Emmanuel Perrotin, the French gallerist with branches in Paris, New York and Asia. “I like...
Lee Ufan: the disturbance gives rise to the artwork. At the Centre Pompidou-Metz
A certain tension A slight imbalance. Some kind of disturbance… Great artists don’t create unforgettable works by envisaging perfection so much as by establishing anomalies. Along with the exceptional jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, who wore large rings on all...
The Shed in New York: an interview with the director of the most daring cultural project of the early 21st century
Monument of architecture First of all it’s a new monument to architecture. But it’s also a new monument to culture. In New York, on 30th Street in between 10th and 11th Avenues, you may have noticed the glass edifice christened “The Shed” which resembles a huge...