On the occasion of International Women’s Rights Day on March 8th, our cultural selection features 8 exhibits by powerful artists to discover this month in Eastern Paris. Great news for art lovers on a budget: most of them are free!
Virginie Bécourt & Ji-Yun – “Anatomies”
Until March 28th
In the heart of the charming Saint-Blaise neighborhood, the Galerie Derniers Jours welcomes a mirror exhibit bringing together two of the artists it represents. The underlying theme of the body undoubtedly unites the textile creations of Virginie Bécourt and Ji-Yun’s surprising artworks, inspired by traditional Korean painting: “flesh, muscles, bones, ligaments and organs become the backdrop of their pieces.”
A visit is a perfect occasion to discover the unique style, “introspections and outlets” of these two artists, and maybe enjoy this opportunity to take a winter stroll around what was once the village of Charonne.
Wednesday to Friday: 4pm-7pm – Saturday: 2pm-7pm
Galerie DerniersJours
5 Rue Saint-Blaise, 75020 Paris
+33 (0)6 85 07 63 32
derniersjours.com
Karishma D’Souza – “Invocation”
Until April 11th
In Le Marais, the galerie Xippas presents artworks by the Indian painter Karishma D’Souza, who grew up in the coastal region of Goa. Through inspired color palettes, the artist offers a “silent conversation” in which paintings must be apprehended “like narratives”.
“Behind signs and symbols, as if behind curtains, hide stories. They are meant to be carefully unfolded, shape by shape, meaning by meaning.” In Invocation, the young painter also tackles the difficult political and social situation of her country by drawing inspirartion from the Dalit literature, according to which “art should be engaged politically and encourage action”.
Tuesday to Friday: 10am-1pm & 2pm-7pm – Saturday: 10am-7pm
Galerie Xippas
108 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75004 Paris
+33 (0)1 40 27 05 55
www.xippas.com
Sylvie Fleury – “She-Devils on Wheels”
Until May 22nd
A few steps away from the previous gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac is celebrating 20 years of partnership with Sylvie Fleury. This anniversary exhibition echoes the ‘club’ with an exclusively female membership founded by the Swiss artist in the 1990s around “a shared appreciation for American customised vehicles” and the automobile aesthetic in general.
Through the pieces exhibited in the series She-Devils on Wheels, Sylvie Fleury multiplies the interventions of female elements to dominate “an environment which is generally considered to be masculine.” Polaroids, evocations of the 1960s, and references to film noir: Sylvie Fleury transports us to a surprising garage, whose vintage accents cannot hide the relevance of the themes it addresses to this day.
Tuesday to Saturday: 10am-7pm
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
7 Rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris
+33 (0)1 42 72 99 00
www.ropac.net
Lola Gonzàlez – “Si tu disais”
Until March 7th
A young video artist with an already prolific artistic career, Lola Gonzàlez presents a selection of her last films at Marcelle Alix gallery, on the heights of Belleville. The exhibit resonates with “new and old friendships, her ability to bind together people whom she has met […] — a way of looking together at the landscape and fearlessly inhabiting it.”
A graduate of Beaux-Arts de Lyon, the artist received early recognition for the “visceral proximity” of her cinematic approach. Lola Gonzàlez was a resident at Villa Medicis in Rome in 2018-2019 after memorable performances at Plateau FRAC Île-de-France, Palais de Tokyo, and a retrospective at Crédac in Ivry-sur-Seine.
Tuesday to Saturday: 11am-7pm
Galerie Marcelle Alix
4 Rue Jouye-Rouve, 75020 Paris
+33 (0)9 50 04 16 80
www.marcellealix.com
Gangao Lang – “Second Self-Introduction”
Until April 19th
A laureate of the Dior Photography Award for Young Talents 2019, Chinese photographer Gangao Lang is presenting a series of her portraits at the Studio – Maison de la Photographie, a space dedicated to emerging talents. Originally from the Henan province, the artist studies at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts.
In the artworks featured in the exhibit Second Self-Introduction, she makes use of digital tools for a mesmerizing result, in which the photographic technique makes poetic nods to contemporary art. By distancing herself from a “conception of photography as an objective track” in this series portraying one of her friends, Gangao Lang creates “an elusive trouble that intensifies the emotional dimension of reality.”
Wednesday & Friday: 11am-8pm – Thursday: 11am-10pm – Saturday & Sunday: 10am-8pm
Full: €10 – Reduced: €6/Free
Maison Européenne de la Photographie
5/7 Rue de Fourcy, 75004 Paris
+33 (0)1 44 78 75 00
www.mep-fr.org
Anabela Pinto – “Precious Things”
Until March 28th
Another great reason to walk down the cobblestones of Rue Jouye-Rouve this month is the exhibition by Portuguese photographer Anabela Pinto dedicated to her superb series “Precious Things”, a reflection “on the contours of materialistic desire and its relationship with the pursuit of happiness”. A student at the Royal College of Art de Londres, the artist is also a laureate of the Dior Photography Award for Young Talents.
In her latest series illustrating the esthetic grip of technology in daily life, “home electronics become the main subjects in open-ended narratives that incite the imagination of the viewer, while speaking of closeness, dependence, frustration, and ultimately happiness, that inherently relate with objects of desire, our precious things.”
Thursday & Friday: 2pm-7pm – Saturday: 12h-19h
Galerie Intervalle
12 Rue Jouye-Rouve, 75020 Paris
+33 (0)1 43 15 94 58
www.galerie-intervalle.com
Sara Quijano – “Strangers”
Until March 18th
Point Éphémère features a selection of artworks by Sara Quijano, a Colombian illustrator who has made Paris her home. The exhibit ‘Strangers’ focuses on the animation she created for the last video clip of the band Bob and the Apple.
The refined yet endearing style of the artist from Medellín is highlighted in the video accompanying the music, as well as in the series of illustrations and “grimace-masks” presented in this exhibition. Entrance is free all week long: a great opportunity for a cultural break before sharing a few drinks by the Canal Saint-Martin !
Every Day: 1pm-7pm
Point Éphémère
200 Quai de Valmy, 75010 Paris
+33 (0)1 40 34 02 48
pointephemere.org
Yuan Jai – Solo Exhibition
Until April 27th
Christian Boltanski and Pierre Soulages may seem like the indisputable stars of the moment behind the glass walls of the Centre Pompidou, yet it would be a shame to miss out on Chinese artist Yuan Jai’s large-format works using ink on silk. As wild animals prepare to jump through their canvas, “biographical elements and contemporary motifs are intermingled with references to the history of European and Oriental art.”
Using colours obtained from mineral pigments (azurite, vermilion, orpiment, malachite), Yuan Jai’s creations will be exhibited on the Level 5 of Centre Pompidou until April 27th. A perfect setting for these jubilatory artworks that have travelled around the world, from Taipei’s Fine Arts Museum to the Musée d’art moderne de Paris and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Full: €14 – Reduced: €11/Free
Every Day (except Tuesday): 11am-8pm
Centre Pompidou
Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris
+33 (0)1 44 78 12 33
www.centrepompidou.fr
Cover Illustration:
Untitled, 2019 – Artworks from the exhibit “Second Self-Introduction” at Maison européenne de la photographie © Gangao Lang