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10 art exhibitions not to miss this autumn in Paris

Paris has a rather incredible selection of art exhibitions coming up this autumn that you really shouldn't miss. Here are 10 temporary art shows you need to see before they are gone.

Published: 9 September 2014 11:17 CEST

The return to real life after France's summer pause can be painful, but there is such a good crop of exhbitions coming up that it almost takes away the pain from going back to work.

Whether it's the brand names like Salvador Dali and Jeff Koons or artists who are famous among those who know art, this autumn promises a heaping dose of both. Yet all of them are only on display for the next couple months.

Here are the 10 show you should go see before they are gone:

  • Marcel Duchamp, Centre Pompidou

Marcel Duchamp, the father of contemporary art, has been described as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

This massive exhibition aims to show French people the true importance of his work, which is greatly admired outside France, but less so inside of it. Runs from September 24th  to January 5th.

  • Katsushika Hokusai, Grand Palais

Five hundred works from the famous 18th century Japanese artist, who is well known for his painting “The big wave of Kanagawa”, will be on display.

It's a great opportunity to see artwork that has become emblematic of Japan. Runs from October  1st  to January 18th .

  • William Eggleston , Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

Bringing together more than 150 pictures taken by the American photographer, the Fondation Cartier presents for the first time in France a broad range of Eggleston’s work.

It traces his early days in black and white pictures to his later career when he discovered colour photography. He is credited with pushing galeries to accept colour photos as a serious art form. Runs from September 9th  to December 21st .

  • Pascal Maître, Maison Européenne de la Photo

Over the course of this photographer's travels to 13 of the 40 countries in Africa he considered himself to be doing the work of a reporter. He managed to get to places where nobody else did and crossed boundaries nobody dared to, armed only with his camera.

His pictures show the different faces, realities and landscapes of a continent that remains a mystery to many of us. Runs from September 10th to November 2nd.

  • The Borgias, Musée Maillol

Jewellery, paintings, clothings and armour help relate the incredible story of the Borgias, who became a symbol of the moral decadence of the wealthy families of the renaissance.

Sex, scandal, murder, incest, nothing of the family's story escapes the attention of this exhibition. Runs from September 17th to February 15th.

  • Jeff Koons,  Centre Pompidou

The famous American artist, star of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, is famous for his kitsch style and colourful creations. He'll make a grand return to Paris in the grey month of November.

It ‘s light, it’s fun and it’s definitely a must-see. Runs from November 26th to April 27th .

  • Gary Winogrand, Jeu de Paume

This is the first exhibition in Paris for this American master of photography, whose work focused on depicting post-World War II America.

From the 1950’s to the 1980’s his pictures embodied the essence of American life and society. Some of his best work will be brought together in this comprehensive exhibition. Runs from October 14th to February 8th .

  • Sonia Delaunay, Musée d’Arts Moderne de la ville de Paris

Sonia Delaunay is, along with her husband Robert Delaunay, one of the great figures of abstract painting. But unlike him, she experimented with a variety of mediums, which ranged from painting to posters to designing objects and clothes.

This exhibit recounts her life and work, exposing more than 400 of her creations. Runs from October 17th  to February 22nd . 

  • Salvador Dali, Espace Dali

Dali’s mark on the world of modern art extends beyond the world of galeries and museums. To create this new exhibit 20 street artists created works directly inspired by Dali. With this project, they show the impact of surrealism on today’s urban art and artistic sensibilities.

The result is impressive. Runs from September 11th to March 15th.

  • Maya , Musée du Quai Branly

For those who like travelling and are fascinated by history this exhibit is a good bet.

Presenting a series of objects, statues and art works belonging to the great pre-Hispanic Mayan nation, the exhibit explains their beliefs, culture and history. Runs from October 7th to February 8th .

 By Léa Surugue

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ART

African-born director’s new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

One of the rare African-born figures to head a German cultural institution, Bonaventure Ndikung is aiming to highlight post-colonial multiculturalism at a Berlin arts centre with its roots in Western hegemony.

Published: 8 July 2023 10:13 CEST
African-born director's new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

The “Haus der Kulturen der Welt” (House of World Cultures), or HKW, was built by the Americans in 1956 during the Cold War for propaganda purposes, at a time when Germany was still divided.

New director Ndikung said it had been located “strategically” so that people on the other side of the Berlin Wall, in the then-communist East, could see it.

This was “representing freedom” but “from the Western perspective”, the 46-year-old told AFP.

Now Ndikung, born in Cameroon before coming to study in Germany 26 years ago, wants to transform it into a place filled with “different cultures of the world”.

The centre, by the river Spree, is known locally as the “pregnant oyster” due to its sweeping, curved roof. It does not have its own collections but is home to exhibition rooms and a 1,000-seat auditorium.

It reopened in June after renovations, and Ndikung’s first project “Quilombismo” fits in with his aims of expanding the centre’s offerings.

The exhibition takes its name from the Brazilian term “Quilombo”, referring to the communities formed in the 17th century by African slaves, who fled to remote parts of the South American country.

Throughout the summer, there will also be performances, concerts, films, discussions and an exhibition of contemporary art from post-colonial societies across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.

‘Rethink the space’

“We have been trying to… rethink the space. We invited artists to paint walls… even the floor,” Ndikung said.

And part of the “Quilombismo” exhibition can be found glued to the floor -African braids laced together, a symbol of liberation for black people, which was created by Zimbabwean artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti.

According to Ndikung, African slaves on plantations sometimes plaited their hair in certain ways as a kind of coded message to those seeking to escape, showing them which direction to head.

READ ALSO: Germany hands back looted artefacts to Nigeria

His quest for aestheticism is reflected in his appearance: with a colourful suit and headgear, as well as huge rings on his fingers, he rarely goes unnoticed.

During his interview with AFP, Ndikung was wearing a green scarf and cap, a blue-ish jacket and big, sky-blue shoes.

With a doctorate in medical biology, he used to work as an engineer before devoting himself to art.

In 2010, he founded the Savvy Gallery in Berlin, bringing together art from the West and elsewhere, and in 2017 was one of the curators of Documenta, a prestigious contemporary art event in the German city of Kassel.

Convinced of the belief that history “has been written by a particular type of people, mostly white and men,” Ndikung has had all the rooms in the HKW renamed after women.

These are figures who have “done something important in the advancement of the world” but were “erased” from history, he added. Among them is Frenchwoman Paulette Nardal, born in Martinique in 1896.

She helped inspire the creation of the “negritude” movement, which aimed to develop black literary consciousness, and was the first black woman to study at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Reassessing history

Ndikung’s appointment at the HKW comes as awareness grows in Germany about its colonial past, which has long been overshadowed by the atrocities committed during the era of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis.

Berlin has in recent years started returning looted objects to African countries which it occupied in the early 20th century — Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia and Cameroon.

“It’s long overdue,” said Ndikung.

He was born in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, into an anglophone family.

The country is majority francophone but also home to an anglophone minority and has faced deadly unrest in English-speaking areas, where armed insurgents are fighting to establish an independent homeland.

One of his dreams is to open a museum in Cameroon “bringing together historical and contemporary objects” from different countries, he said.

He would love to locate it in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s restive Northwest region.

“But there is a war in Bamenda, so I can’t,” he says.

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