https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z-iFQe64Rs The weather project Olafur Eliasson (born in 1967) came to public prominence in 2003 with his Weather Project at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, consisting of a spectacular giant sun that emitted no heat but which all of...
A limitless world There are certain people who are intelligent, but in their presence the future seems at the very least rigid and rectilinear if not dark and threatening. And yet there are others blessed with the same intellectual potential who have a...
50 years anniversary For exactly 50 years, the Rencontres de la Photographie have been held every summer under the hot sun in Arles. In the entire town Initially conceived as a small exhibition staged amongst friends, over time the show has radically evolved,...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rprylIsrdUg South Africa William Kentridge was born in South Africa in 1955. Apartheid He therefore spent 40 years living under the notorious apartheid regime. He describes how at the time the only way of understanding society...
On minute in front of a masterpiece How long does one spend in front of a masterpiece? For mere mortals who can’t claim to possess any, one minute maximum and often even less will be dedicated to experiencing this outstanding vision in a museum. Apart from in...
Endless speculation There’s been endless speculation in the media surrounding the nature and whereabouts of the Salvator Mundi, a heavily restored painting depicting Christ blessing the world, not because it is (or isn’t) by Leonardo but primarily...
Paul Cézanne The story begins in the pine forests of Aix. Imagine the cicadas, the hot sun beating down, and Paul Cézanne coming to this spot every day to paint, in an old quarry where stones were cut in the 18th century and used to construct the majestic...
A pyramid of artists The history of the Italian Renaissance resembles a virtuosic acrobatics show, in which each great master climbs onto the shoulders of his predecessor in a tower reaching up to the sky. This pyramid of artists is revealed almost in its entirety in...
Spiritual beauty It’s like a visual punch in the face. A beauty that is both powerful and spiritual. The Oceania exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly, which has come from the Royal Academy in London, is quite possibly one of the most beautiful currently on...
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...
Paul Gauguin “How do you see this tree? Is it really green? Use green then, the most beautiful green on your palette. And that shadow, rather blue? Don’t be afraid to paint it as blue as possible”. During the summer of 1888 in Brittany at Pont Aven, Paul...
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...