With international borders slowly opening up, we are eager to start visiting museums and art galleries again. We have compiled a list of our favorite exhibitions in the three leading art capitals in the world – New York, Paris and London.
New York City
Modern Look: Photography and the American Magazine
The Jewish Museum, through July 11, 2021
This beautiful exhibition includes 150 works that explore how photography, graphic design, and popular magazines converged to transform American visual culture from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. These photographs, layouts and cover designs tell the story of the unmistakable aesthetic made popular by such magazines as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue and photographers such as Irving Penn, Gordon Parks and Lillian Bassman.
Cézanne Drawing
MoMA, through September 25, 2021
The French artist Cézanne was best known as a painter, but he actually produced his most radically original works on paper. This exhibition brings together more than 250 rarely shown works in pencil and mesmerizing watercolor made throughout his career. Seen all together, along with several of his important paintings, these works on paper reveal how drawing shaped his transformative modern vision.
Centre Pompidou x Jersey City
Breaking news… The Centre Pompidou just announced that they will open an outpost in Jersey City, NJ in 2024. The Pompidou will plan on showing work from its vast art collection while its original location in Paris undergoes a years-long restoration project. This new museum will be known as Centre Pompidou x Jersey City and will also organize talks, performances, screenings and more. Watch this space…
Paris
Bourse de Commerce
The eagerly awaited opening of the newest museum in Paris was finally realized on May 20th when the Bourse de Commerce opened its doors. The historic 18th century structure, which was the former stock exchange building, was transformed by the renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando. This museum was the brainchild of the French businessman and art collector Francois Pinault to showcase his vast art holdings known as the Pinault Collection. This contemporary art museum will showcase pieces from the Pinault Collection that includes over 10,000 works that offer a perspective on the art from 1960’s to present time. There is also a spectacular fresco restoration as well as artworks that have been specifically commissioned for the space. One of the exhibitions is titled “In-Situ Works” (until Dec 31, 2021). Several artists created site-specific works inside and outside the museum that creates an intriguing dialogue between the architecture and the art it is exhibiting.
JR’s site-specific street art
JR is a French photographer and street artist. He started posting large black and white images printed on paper in the streets of Paris and now does monumental installations in public locations around the world. JR’s latest large-scale urban artwork is back where he started, in Paris. His large-scale photographs are collaged together revealing a breathtaking “split earth” beneath the Eiffel Tower. It is a head spinning installation that optically distorts reality giving the viewer a sense of a magical illusion. They can then create their own photograph of themselves peering over the cliffs or jumping across the abyss. It also has a dazzling effect even after a rainstorm. Located at Esplanade des droits de l’homme (Place du Trocadero) and will be taken down around June 20, 2021.
Mosaic street art by Ememem
Another French artist is making his mark on the streets of Paris and beyond. Ememem, a Lyonnais artist is turning cracked pavements into art. He finds potholes and sidewalk cracks and fills them in with mosaics a process he calls “flacking” (which is a play on the French word “flaque” for puddle), as it feels like these mosaics fill the cracks and holes as organically as rainwater would. The colored glass mosaics create textures, colors and patterns that turn bleak, broken down areas into a beautiful urban landscape. He has left his mark in such cities as Lyon, Paris, Barcelona and Turin. He is currently part of a group exhibition, “Ceramics Now”, at the Galerie Italienne in Paris through July 17, 2021.
Follow him on Instagram @ememem.flacking or better yet, keep your eyes peeled to your local streets. Who knows where the next one will pop up!
The Clearing Grand Ménage
The art gallery, Clearing Gallery, has taken over an empty hôtel particular that dates from around 1728. This group show titled “Grand Ménage” is in a mansion that has been away from the public eye and uninhabited for the past 10 years. Paintings and sculptures have been placed in each room and on each floor in a slightly haunting exhibition. While one will visit for the art exhibit, the abandoned mansion itself is also intriguing to view as you can see the original architecture, colors and wallpapers now in their decaying state. Located at 72 Rue de l’Université, Tues – Sat 10am-7pm and it will close on June 20, 2021.
London
Charlotte Perriand: The Modern Life
The Design Museum, June 19 – September 5, 2021
After a blockbuster debut exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris in 2019/20 this outstanding show is opening at the Design Museum in London. They have recreated some of her most famous interiors and have included many of her iconic furniture along with sketches, photographs, scrapbooks and prototypes. It is fascinating to see her creative process and this show gives her her rightful place in design history. This iconic French designer helped define the modern interior as her belief was that good design is for everyone.
JR: Eye to the World
Pace Gallery, through July 3, 2021
This exhibition brings together photographs from several bodies of JR’s work showcasing his unique view of humanity seen through his camera lens.
Note: this Pace Gallery exhibition coincides with the largest solo museum show to date at Saatchi Gallery
JR: Chronicles
Saatchi Gallery, through October 3, 2021
This exhibition features JR’s most iconic works from the past 15 years. This show first opened at The Brooklyn Museum in NYC in 2019 and was a blockbuster exhibition.
