Bryan McCormack, When Joris Ivens Meets Hraesvelgr, 2010

I’ve passed this sculpture several times, it’s at the top of a steep hill and I’m always happy to see it, but at 12 metres high it’s a little too tall to hug. The hill is in Domaine National St. Cloud, a beautiful heritage park that was one of the places Louis XVI hid during the French revolution, Marie Antoinette’s rose garden is still there. Its lakes, topiary and fountains is like something out of Alice in Wonderland, but the view of Paris in the distance brings you back to reality. Due to its location on the outskirts of the city it’s always very quiet which makes you feel, like Alice a bit of an intruder.

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“Pliage”, 1971, Oil on canvas 140cm x 90cm by André-Pierre Arnal at
Galerie de l’Europe, Supports/Surface, etc….

At the exhibition openings I usually go to the guests are normally there to drink the free wine, I’ve never been to an opening where the guests actually have enough spare cash to buy one of the paintings, well there was one but that’s another story. The other thing that was strange was that everybody had really dressed up, this might surprise you but in Paris it’s not often you see high-heels, matching handbags and eye make-up. Generally everyone seems to stick to one of two looks, ‘casual’ or ‘classic’. As the bling started to add up I came to realise this might be quite a special occasion. (more…)

La dépouille du Minotaure en habit d’arlequin
(The Minotaur’s body dressed as a harlequin) Pablo Picasso, 1936

When I hear the sentence, “one of the world’s greatest…” my eyes generally glaze over, followed by an attack of involuntary yawning, but the thing is, Picasso really was great. Firstly, he could paint. Secondly, he was involved in starting awhole new art movement, Cubism. Thirdly, he was a right character, which is themost important thing if you want to go down in history as a legend.

In every big museum I’ve ever visited in Europe there’s been a Picasso. It’s a must-have must-see, but unlike many of the greats, his work is so varied that every work I’ve seen has been very different. This probably has something to dowith the fact he produced thousands of works. It was not only a result of hardwork, but the fact that he lived until he was 91.

I recently spent a couple of days in Toulouse as part of my holiday (go there it’s great!) and would’ve been a little disappointed if there wasn’t a Picasso or two to see, especially as the town is so influenced by Spanish culture. I thought I hadbeen there, done that and got the T-shirt when I saw Guernica in Madrid, but Iwas speechless when I saw this beauty. It’s gigantic, 10 metres high and morethan 12 metres across. I felt like a mouse, just look at the size of the woman’s head in the picture compared to the Minotaur’s!

Just to give you a bit of an explanation about the scene, a Minotaur is a creature from Greek Mythology that has the head of a bull and the body of a man; it was adopted as the symbol of the Surrealist movement, which Picassowas close to. In this case the man is dressed as a Harlequin, traditionally an important character in French theatre, which is significant as the painting was commissioned as the stage curtain for Romain Rolland’s play Le 14 juillet, writtento be performed on France’s national day. I get the feeling that this curtain wasa bit of a show-stealer. I’m not sure anyone would’ve been actually watching the play.

The work is on display at Les Abattoirs, Toulouse’s main contemporary art space, named after its previous function. Don’t be put off by the name though, it’s a great museum with architecture similar to the Musee D’Orsay and a collection ofmainly French artists, many from the region. Also, abattoirs have an importantplace in art history as the French Impressionists and Expressionists often visited Paris’ main slaughterhouses in the Villette district to paint haunches of blood-redmeat. Now the abattoirs of La Villette have been converted into a centre for artsthat includes a gallery, concert venues and a canal-side park.

Picasso, who had previously hung it in his studios, donated the stage curtain tothe city of Toulouse in 1965, but sadly it is now only shown to the public for part of the year due to its fragility.

Joseph Beuys Food for Thought, 1977

My life at the moment is an endless list. I don’t even have time to tick things off that I’ve done, or to read the list properly. Don’t worry though, ‘go on holiday’ ison my list and will be crossed off shortly.

One of the things to do on my list was to write a post about this list by Joseph Beuys at the Emmanuel Perrotin Gallery. I’ve only just got around to it and the exhibition ends on July 30th, so I’d better keep this brief. (more…)

Invader – 1000, La Générale, Paris
 

Paris life has always been about what happens on the street. Whether it’s designer boutique shopping, café culture or a homeless person asking for your help, it’s where the action takes place. Recently however, thanks to artists like Invader, Paris pedestrians are starting get a different perspective on the boulevards they know and love, simply by looking up. (more…)