The South African photographer David Goldblatt, born in 1930, died on 25 June. I met this exceptional man at his home in Johannesburgh. He was both humble and humanistic, and had long been involved in the fight against apartheid and racism in his country. Then I...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K43H-AvZXtc It’s a huge shock. It’s a major exhibition driven by a universal message. It’s a piece of the history of modern art. In Paris there’s a place that is little known for its exhibitions, the Shoah Memorial located...
I am the curator of an exhibition dedicated to Ai Weiwei in Marseille, Ai Weiwei.Fan Tan at the spectacular museum designed by Rudy Ricciotti on the shores of the Mediterranean, the Mucem, which opened this week. Since the purpose of this blog is to communicate my...
In Spain they love to eat. And when the most famous modern Spaniard, Picasso, sits down at the dinner table it would be easy to imagine it as an excessive affair. For the Malaga-born painter was a glutton. He consumed women one after another and seized upon images...
"The art market of today sends very mixed messages.On the one hand, we continue to sell the most expensive, rarest and most important artworks.On the other hand, the paintings that are not so very rare, the works that trade at around 100 00 euros despite being made by...
Anish Kapoor (born in 1954) is not just an artist, he’s also a great illusionist. He is helping to set in motion the blurring of mankind’s perception and in doing so touches on a mystical part of us that makes us pleasantly uncomfortable. He makes our heads spin....
Two of the greatest artworks of the twentieth century were almost conceived in a brothel. The masterpiece “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon”, Picasso’s cubist manifesto now on display at Moma, doesn’t depict pretty girls from the south of France but rather creatures...
On Friday 8 June, Christie’s is auctioning a group of 62 artworks estimated at 800,000 euros owned by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. They all share the distinguishing feature of having once belonged to a Milanese dealer, Arturo Schwarz (born in 1924). Schwarz has now...
“I don’t want to dishearten you, but there will inevitably be a serious and lengthy crash caused by the large number of exhibitions and the weariness the public will feel towards contemporary painting. The crash may take place tomorrow or in ten years’ time, I don’t...
The south of France, with its quality of light and its natural beauty, has long fostered the spirit of sharing in private collectors keen to reveal their treasures to the public. We could mention the Maeght Foundation, which opened in 1964 in Saint-Paul de Vence and...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBHxf2FvTyQ On the big international art show circuit, Kader Attia (born in 1970) is everywhere. He was exhibited at the penultimate Documenta in Kassel in 2012. One of his large-scale works was exhibited as part of the...
Over the past 3 months and up until 9 May the glorious central spiral of the Guggenheim in New York was occupied by the artist Danh Vo (born in 1975 in Vietnam raised in Denmark). He will be succeeded by Alberto Giacometti in June. Which just goes to show… But in my...