Looking for a cultural break? From the Marais to Romainville through Bastille and La Villette, we’ll be your guide for this month’s selection of art exhibits!
France Bizot – Polaroils
Until December 16th
“France Bizot’s sixth solo exhibition at Backslash, taking place in the middle of the month-long Paris Photo event, delves deep into the world of the Polaroid by subverting its primary trait: the instant nature of the photograph. Although the series on show pay tribute to the technique introduced in the late 1940s, Bizot is more concerned with the specific characteristics of the well-known format: a 7.9 x 7.9 cm square in a 10.7 x 8.8 cm rectangle (3.1 x 3.1 inches in 4.2 x 3.5 inches). After spending several years focusing on drawing and ceramics, the artist has now turned her attention to painting, a medium she previously tackled at the beginning of her artistic journey.”
Tuesday to Saturday: 2pm-7pm – Free admission
Backslash Gallery
29 rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth, 75003 Paris
www.backslashgallery.com
E. Boissier & Lutes – Au 389
Until January 19th
“Lutes and E. Boissier are two Parisian painters who share a common vision of figurative painting: to represent our times. In the midst of the din and dense, suffocating urbanism that characterizes Paris, their paintings seek to recapture moments of tranquility. Freezing an instant of life, letting your gaze linger on people, objects and lights, taking the time to appreciate, contemplate and preserve a memory of the moment. The exhibition will run for two months, and will evolve throughout to present new paintings at Galerie 389 La Boutique.”
Tuesday to Saturday: 2pm-7pm – Free admission
Galerie 389 La Boutique
389 rue des Pyrénées, 75020 Paris
instagram.com/389laboutique
Rozenn Brécard & France Dumas – Dessins, gravures
Until December 3rd
More information to come.
Tuesday to Sunday: 1pm-7pm – Free admission
Galerie Le Serpent Vert
4 rue des Guillemites, 75004 Paris
galerieleserpentvert.com
Mabeye Deme – Golf Sud
December 7th-30th
“Everyday life in Dakar is magnified and transcended through the photographer’s lens, which he places behind the veil of his tent to capture intimate moments of its inhabitants. Unlike the painter who prints their motif on canvas, the photographer veils the lens to better un-veil his subject. Clear canvas, blurred figure. Mabeye Deme uses the sensitive texture of the veil as a medium, like the development of film photography or the pixels in digital photography. The tents he uses are ephemeral constructions from working-class neighborhoods that host ceremonies and meetings of all kinds. Wear and tear recount the passage of time, the ruptures and the distance between the exile a city that continues to evade the present.”
Wednesday to Saturday: 14h-19h – Free admission
Galerie Art-Z
27 rue Keller, 75011 Paris
art-z.net
Ndayé Kouagou – A Change of Perspective
Until February 18th
“The Frac Île-de-France presents Ndayé Kouagou’s first solo exhibition in France in such a venue. His different practices revolve around language, without establishing any hierarchy between them. From the tangible form of a painting to videos evoking the world of influencers, to the intimate and ephemeral nature of performances and workshops, his work gives equal consideration to transmission via objects, performances, and educational formats. Engaging with the other is central to his need to create. A self-taught artist, his work is driven by a desire for dialogue and openness, a yearning to allow others to dream for themselves.”
Wednesday to Sunday: 2pm-7pm – Free admission
Frac Île-de-France – Le Plateau
22 rue des Alouettes, 75019 Paris
www.fraciledefrance.com
Thandiwe Muriu – You thought you could throw me away
Until December 30th
“[…] Therein lies Thandiwe Muriu’s strength: an atypical career path, breaking with the norms of her country and the expectations of a “great artistic career”, while recounting the beauty of her reality. You thought you could throw me away presents the elements that make the artist’s work so iconic. Her work encourages viewers to take a fresh look at the concepts of identity and free expression, exploring what it means to be a strong, modern woman. By drawing on her own experience, the Kenyan artist is ultimately addressing women the world over. Indeed, if there’s one subject common to all the demands, expectations, criticisms and stolen speeches, it’s “Woman”. In just three years, the young photographer has established a vibrant identity that cannot be ignored, joining the ranks of those who are helping to reclaim the African narrative and its image.”
Tuesday to Saturday: 10am-7pm – Free admission
193 Gallery
24 rue Béranger, 75003 Paris
www.193gallery.com
Yukiko Noritake – La Villa
Until January 9th
“La Villa is a lavish series of 30 elegantly styled gouaches. The viewer plunges into a softly chic universe, where every guest and every space is carefully depicted. The meticulousness of the details is reflected in the lace of a dress, a trompe l’oeil wall, the transparency of a crystal, the sensuality of a fruit bowl… You can almost hear the hubbub of the evening, so vibrant is life in Yukiko’s vast painting, where the guests, gathered under a masterly, finely decorated cupola, seem ready to step out of the frame… The food is succulent, the decor sumptuous, the festivities absolutely epicurean. With Yukiko, everyday life is imbued with exquisite refinement, and she cultivates a certain art de vivre where beauty is everywhere, as a remedy for gloom and melancholy. An ideal program for the end of the year!”
Monday to Saturday: 11am-7pm – Free admission
Slow Galerie
5 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011 Paris
www.slowgalerie.com
Lokz Phoenix – L’échappée
Until December 16th
“Lokz’s use of wondrous colours suggests a departure from reality and the entering into a realm of imagination and symbolism. The fantastical hues enhance the otherworldly nature of this setting, creating a sense of wonder and intrigue that invites contemplation on the nature of our existence. Whilst the adventuresome dog serves as a metaphor for all natural beings who find contentment and pleasure in ways that are free from human influence. Portrayed as small and seemingly lost in a vast space, it evokes a sense of isolation and introspection that prompts viewers to question the impact of human interference on nature whilst offering them a moment of solitude that is increasingly rare in today’s fast-paced society.”
Tuesday to Saturday: 11am-1pm & 2pm-7pm – Free admission
JPS Gallery
12 rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth, 75003 Paris
jpsgallery.com
Delphine Pinel & Florence Philipponnat – Paris-Est – Regards croisés
December 6th-21st
“Florence takes photos, Delphine draws. But apart from that, they do have quite a lot in common. One lives in the Jourdain neighborhood, the other by Gambetta, and both love Eastern Paris. They began their practice during the covid-19 lockdown, surveying and observing their surroundings. They are completely self-taught, both coming from literary rather than visual professions. They post their images on Instagram. That is where they found each other and connected. It all made a joint exhibition well worthwhile.” — Our article around Delphine Pinel’s work (in French)
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10am-6:30pm – Thursday: 1:30pm-7pm – Saturday: 10am-2pm – Free admission
Maison du Combattant, de la Vie Associative et Citoyenne (MACVAC)
20 rue Edouard Pailleron, 75019 Paris
mairie19.paris.fr
Maria Szakats – Mon seul désir
Until December 23rd
“Maria Szakats’ works synthesise two seemingly antithetical elements, the traditional handicraft of embroidery and the uncanny and warped precision of an impossible photography. The textiles presented use mohair yarn embroidered through printed found photographs, or AI-generated images. These punctured images are adhered onto needlepoint canvas, the resulting mohair imaging of the natural world achieves intricately detailed studies of birds, plants, and animals which are then vigorously brushed into abstracted motion. The Austrian artist’s first solo gallery show in France, the series of canvases presented in Mon seul désir demonstrate a compulsive creative practice. The methods used here render the artistic process an intricate layering of meticulous repetition carried out over hours, days and weeks. […]” — Andrew Hodgson
Wednesday to Saturday: 2pm-7pm – Free admission
Galerie Chloe Salgado
61 rue de Saintonge, 75003 Paris
galeriechloesalgado.com
Les Ateliers du Père Lachaise Associés – Open Studios 2023
December 2nd & 3rd
“Artists from the Ateliers du Père Lachaise Associés (APLA) will welcome visitors to a dozen locations between boulevard de Charonne and rue des Pyrénées, south of the great cemetery of Eastern Paris. “At the back of a courtyard, at the bend of a cul-de-sac, up the floors of a building, in a studio-boutique”: painters, photographers and sculptors from the Père Lachaise neighborhood will be revealing the behind-the-scenes aspects of their creations over the first weekend of December, between 2pm and 7pm. According to the APLA President René Celhay, the main aim of the event is “to encourage dialogue and sharing around artistic creation”, and the open studios will enable the public “to gain a better understanding of the artists’ approach and thinking, to open up a dialogue around art, and to democratize it by taking it out of the galleries”.” — Our article (in French)
Saturday & Sunday: 2pm-7pm – Free admission
Three information points are open for the duration of the event with local maps available:
• Espace Monte Cristo – 9 rue de Monte Cristo, 75020 Paris
• 85 bis rue de Bagnolet, 75020 Paris
• 98 boulevard de Charonne, 75020 Paris
www.apla.fr
Galerie d’Artistes Ouverte on Place de la Réunion
Saturday, December 9th
“Following on from the Ateliers du Père Lachaise Associés’ Open Studios, the “artistic stroll” will continue on Saturday, December 9, with the next edition of the Galerie d’Artistes Ouverte (GAO), organized one day per season on the Place de la Réunion. Launched in early 2022 by APLA, this open-air event now includes guest artists from Ateliers d’Artistes de Belleville and Artistes de Ménilmontant, two other associations illustrating the 20th arrondissement’s inexhaustible creativity. “By bringing art to the street, we are making it more accessible, more alive”, explains photographer Laurence Prat, also in charge of GAO, ahead of the 8th edition of this other local art event.” — Our article (in French)
Saturday: 11am-7pm – Free admission
Place de la Réunion
75020 Paris
Jardin d’hiver
Until December 20th
“The group exhibition Jardin d’hiver brings together eight French artists (seven of them women) who, together and in their own way, construct all the elements of an idealized winter garden. Stained glass, straw marquetry, plant installations, ceramics, tufting, dry pastels, watercolors: each artist deploys a different, sometimes rare, pictorial technique or medium, but all imagine their own version of this reassuring, intimate, colorful and inspiring space. The exhibition brings together artists Olivia de Bona, Julien Colombier, Makiko Furuichi, Violaine Carrère, Perrine Boudy, Victoire Kammermann, Colombe Salvaresi, and Tara Msellati.”
Wednesday to Saturday: 2pm-7pm – Free admission
Galerie Bessaud
24 bis rue de Charenton, 75012 Paris
galeriebessaud.com
Exhibition of visual arts laureates from the Fonds régional pour les talents émergents
Until December 16th
“The Fonds régional pour les talents émergents – FoRTE (Regional fund for emerging talents) was created by the Île-de-France Region in 2017 to make the territory more attractive to young French and international artists. The winners’ exhibition takes place on the second floor of the Frac Île-de-France’s Les Réserves site. Curated by Céline Poulin, it will bring together artists L. Camus-Govoroff, Nina Chalot, Lucie Douriaud, Camille Juthier, Jacques Ligot, Winnie Mo Rielly, and Gabriel Moraes Aquino.”
Wednesday to Saturday: 2pm-7pm – Free admission
Les Réserves – Frac Île-de-France
43 rue de la Commune de Paris, 93230 Romainville
www.fraciledefrance.com
Corps à corps – Histoire(s) de la photographie
Until March 25th
“Bringing together more than 500 photographs and documents by some 120 historical and contemporary photographers, Corps à corps (Body to body) offers a unique insight into photographic representations of the human race in the 20th and 21st centuries. The exhibition goes beyond the traditional categories of study such as “portrait”, “self-portrait”, “nudes” and so-called “humanist” photography. It reveals the particularities and “photographic” ways of seeing, showing the connections between artists. It brings to light common obsessions in ways of addressing the subject and stylistic approaches. The images on display also question the photographer’s responsibility: how does photography contribute to the birth of identities and their visibility? How does it recount individualities, the relationship with the Other?”
Every day except Tuesdays: 11am-9pm (until 11pm on Thursdays) – €17/€14/€0
Centre Pompidou
Place Georges Pompidou, 75004 Paris
www.centrepompidou.fr
Toucher Terre
Until December 17th
“In an exhibition space committed to contemporary sculpture and through the artworks of the Villa Datris Foundation, Toucher Terre brings together more than 50 ceramic artworks by French and international artists on the theme of Earth. The discovery of the material plunges us into a primitive forest sheltering various animal and plant species – creatures inspired by nature, mythology and folktales. From the bowels of the Earth as archaeological witness of our civilization, to the intimacy of the workshop where accident and control, chance and luck reign, ceramics reveals its strengths and weaknesses.”
Wednesday to Sunday: 11am-6:30pm – Free admission
Espace Monte Cristo
9 rue Monte-Cristo, 75020 Paris
fondationvilladatris.fr/espace-monte-cristo
Urgence climatique
Until December 31st
In La Villette (19th arrondissement), the Cité des Sciences is renowned for its playful exhibitions, with visitors taking part in experiments in which they are the protagonists. Faced with one of the major challenges of our century, and in order to raise awareness regarding climate change, the museum features an interactive tour to explore the subject. The program includes game-like workshops, explanatory panels, data visualizations, and interactive videos, all presented by scientists, engineers, and sociologists. […] — Our article (French)
Tuesday to Saturday: 10am-6pm – Sunday: 10am-7pm
Also in English – From 15+ – €13/€10/€0
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie
30 avenue Corentin Cariou, 75019 Paris
www.cite-sciences.fr
You found this article useful? Don’t hesitate to read our call for solidarity and to support us to help Paris Lights Up remain accessible for everyone!
Illustration (cropped) :
Exhibit view – L’échappée at JPS Gallery
© Lokz Phoenix – JPS Gallery
2 thoughts on “Decembre 2023: A selection of art exhibits to view in Eastern Paris this month”