A Letter from Paris

Prior to World War II, Paris was among the most revered cities in which to acquire contemporary art. While on a visit to acquire an outside sculpture for a client, I realized Paris is on the rise as an art capital once again! You can feel the energy here as a global destination to experience and learn about relevant artistic practices. One of the best ways to learn about art is through exhibitions and there are three key shows here to see. One is Women of Abstraction at the Pompidou which attempts to completely rechart the cannon of important global practices by women in art. There are incredible works included from the known and relevant like Hilma af Klint, Frankenthaler, Mitchell, Lygia Clark to new practices to discover such as Japanese light artist Atsuko Tanaka and Korean abstractionist Wook-Kyung Choi. The second was the opening of the Pinault Collection at the Bourse de Commerce. Luckily, a friend and local Parisian art advisor gave me tickets to this must-see event. The main historic rotunda at the Bourse de Commerce was filled with spectacular, life-size, figurative Neoclassic wax candles that slowly melted away. This was one of the most thoughtful and dynamic installations in recent memory. The last key show was the Lalanne exhibition at Versailles which was nothing short of sublime. Among the vast grounds and the Marie Antoinette hamlet sit Lalanne’s sheep, monkeys, burros, pigs and rabbits, allowing a visitor to stroll into an otherworldly experience, joining two imaginary worlds that are both very real.