Big dog, small dog!

Let me introduce you to Doggy John, a sculpture by Julien Marinetti that I photographed near the rond-point des Champs Elysées yesterday. The photo is not really interesting, but I find it  funny as just when I was taking the shot a "real" dog turned up and showed some interest in my camera!  

The little Munchkins of Agnès Baillon!

You might find them a little scary, but they aren't. I even find them really fascinating. "Them", are the little friends of Agnès Baillon, a French sculptor, who created them "almost by chance" - she says - just because she wanted to break away from her paint class that she was attending at Les Beaux Arts, the most famous French fine arts school. I saw them in an art gallery at rue Vieille du temple in Le Marais and could not help but stopping and have a better look at them. FYI, this is the exhibition poster that I shot outside the gallery.   

Unique objects with a soul...

I had lunch in the Abbesses area yesterday (Tuesday) and before I head back to work, I walked around the area and came across one of these bollards that Le Cyclop (who I already featured on PDP in September 2010) turns  into works of art. It turned out that the bollards were in front of Akiza art gallery, which precisely sells them together with other unique and very creative objects like this red bag (look at the handle, it's a phone handset!) or this old telephone lamp. A cool place to visit, (located at 3 rue Tholozé) if you're in the neighborhood. 

A true masterpiece

Close to my home, there is super gallery called Nota Bene with a lot of art from the 19th century. Recently, I noticed this stunning bust in the window and did not resist photographing it! It was made by French sculptor Auguste Henri Carli and is called Buste de jeune Nègre (nègre has now become very derogatory, but was not when this bust was made). FYI in France, slavery was abolished in 1791/92 then reinstated by Napoleon  in 1802 and abolished again in 1848!

Fiac 2012

Paris is full of modern art events and exhibits at the moment... Why now? Because it's La Fiac (Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain), a huge modern art exhibit that takes place every year at le Grand Palais. I went yesterday morning (Saturday) and even though I dislike the snobby artsy people that you often encounter is this kind of places, I did not regret it. Each booth (that is each gallery) had so much creativity and so many talents to offer that I could not take my eyes off of many of the pieces on display. Nor my camera... I took a lot of photos, but did not have time to post pick the best ones yet. In the meantime let me offer you this beautiful head that I found at the Michael Werner gallery.

Advertising age

Like all underground transportation systems in the world, the French metro makes ends meet by selling advertising space. This, since... 1947 (and a little before too)! Generally rented by the week, this space has seen thousands of ad campaigns since then! One artist - Pierre-François Grimaldi - had the idea of turning them into real pictures. Some of them can currently be seen at Galerie W, near Montmartre. Quite clever - and interesting for "old" Parisians like me who may remember some of these campaigns! 

The hidden treasures of Doisneau

Am I lucky? Yes, a little bit! Yesterday evening (Monday), I had the opportunity of going to the opening of a great exhibition, where several unknown photos by Doisneau were presented! How is that possible? Well simply because he took a zillion shots and it's only recently that his daughters decided to dig them out from where they were sleeping... Stunning as always, but you have to go to the Artcurial gallery (at the bottom of Les Champs Elysées) to see them all ;-)

Pure beauty!

Thanks a million for all your birthday messages yesterday, I did not have the time to comment yet (I had a very busy Saturday!) but I will tomorrow. Last evening I passed by the Art Club gallery near the Louvre and saw this stunning sculpture. I thought it was perfect for a peaceful Sunday...

Jungle Paris

Here are two scenes of Paris that are both hard to imagine and fascinating: The Pompidou center on the left and the Eiffel Tower on the right, surrounded by the jungle! I found these two photos at an art gallery opening last evening and I really loved them. They were made by Chris Morin, an artist who likes to depict present places hundreds of years from now, just like we can now visit ancient sites that are surrounded with trees and plants and partly destroyed. Very interesting. See other places on his site.

Paris Silhouettes

To be honest, I did not know of photographer Alexandre Vitkine, but when I saw this poster promoting his work at rue Drouot, I took a closer look... Apparently he was born in Berlin in 1910, and became a photographer then a sculptor after he pursued a career in industry as an electromechanical engineer. He played a lot with "silhouettes" in his photo work. I'll probably have a look at them at La Galerie at rue Bonaparte.  

How I became a comic character...

Do you see the character in the upper left of this comic book, well it's me! Don't go thinking it's an actual drawing, for it's a piece of art by Christophe Weber that I saw at the Galerie W corner, at the Chic Today exhibit at La cité de la Mode, by the Seine. This is actually a live image, projected on a huge screen, with two cameras on each side; each of them films the people in front of the screen and turns them instantly into comic strip characters. Great idea! On top of that the Galerie W people had the marvelous idea of using polltogo to get people's reaction on the spot. Really Fun!

Gallery opening

I'm just back from the september opening of one of my favorite art galeries in Paris: Galerie W. The place was packed and I really wondered - and wandered - a long time before I found the photo I wanted to take. And suddenly, at the end of this narrow corridor that leads to one of the rooms, I saw this fragile silhouette. There was my photo du jour ;-)

Art!!

I know that modern art is not an easy topic to deal with, but there is a lot in Paris and from time to time I like to report about it. Thus, this week, I went to La Maison Rouge, an art gallery located near Bastille, where they celebrated the launch of Slash Magazine, an online magazine that... deals with modern art. The main exhibit was dedicated to Winnipeg, and this little sculpture was part of it, I believe. Don't ask me... Maybe one of the "treasures" that will be part of the huge treasure hunt that the Paris city hall is organizing this Saturday!

Délicieuse attirance

I don't remember exactly  how, but I recently got invited to an art exhibit on a boat by the Eiffel Tower by these people. I had no idea of what I was going to find there and I was not really sure it would be worth it. And then I really fell in love with the sculptures by Aude de Bessac, two of which you can see in this photo... The one in the foreground is called Délicieuse attirance (delicious attraction) and, well, that is how I felt towards it when I saw it.

Nathalie Shau's work

Yesterday, Diane from Buzzeum (an agency specializing in the promotion of cultural events) sent me an email to invite me to the opening of an art exhibit (yes, another opening, I know what you're going to say!) As I'm really very busy at the moment I was about to say "No sorry, I can't", when I saw it would take place in Le Passage Verdeau, right where I live! I had no excuse not to go ;-) And I did not regret it. It took place in a gallery called Le cabinet des Curieux, by which I pass everyday (and where I already took this photo last year) and the exhibit was about the work of  Natalie Shau, a Lithuanian artist who is an illustrator and photographer. Beautiful work (a little spooky too ;-)).

America in Paris!

Funny. last evening as I was coming home I saw this big American flag in a window of an art gallery. I could not help but getting closer and seeing what was inside... An exhibition called USA: New York and Route 66, by Arnaud d'Aunay, a former banker who became an artist somewhere along the road.  I did not get to see the rest because the gallery was closed, but I certainly will. It's funny  to see the images that represent a country for foreigners; I know that Americans think the French wear a beret and carry a baguette wherever they go ;-) and the French think the average American drives an old Oldsmobiles Chevy, eat hamburgers and say the F word every 5 seconds (the latter comes from what we hear in American movies!).

Quartier Drouot

I live in what is called Le Quartier Drouot, that is the area around the Drouot auction house where there are  lots of art galleries. Nice place to walk through at night, when the windows are all lit! And even more so at this very moment for they are having their annual "Drouot en fête" days, during which they open late at night, have little cocktails and stuff. I went to the opening night on Thursday and I once again drooled in front of this painting at gallery Xavier Eeckhout that I see every night on my way back home. It's by Jean-Louis Foulquier - a man who started painting because he was sick and needed a soothing occupation! I simply love his work.

If only I had a brain...

I had dinner at "Fish", a very good restaurant at 69 rue de Seine in the 6th last evening and  when I went out of the restaurant  I came across this stunning brain "sculpture" in the window of the Galerie Bailly Contemporain. Very beautiful and very impressive. I simply love it. It is called 13000 volts, and I understand , Cédric Ragot made it. I wish I had a creative brain like his!

Talented painter

I'm not a super fan of galery openings as 1) I don't really appreciate the snobby crowd that generally hangs out there and 2) I get bored very quickly (probably a consequence of the 1st point!). Last evening however, I went to two openings and I actually enjoyed myself. I also discovered very talented people. Like Pierre Alex. the man who made these 6 stunning paintings (I know it's hard to really appreciate them in this photo, but that was not my point...) that I photographed at the wonderful Galery W, in the Abesses area near Montmartre. More about the second opening (including a little surprise!) soon...

African art at the cloister

There is a lot more than funny shaped baguettes in Le Marais ;-) There is also a lot of art. Hence, this African art exhibition in Le Cloître des Billettes (the Billettes cloister) - a sublime place built around 1430 ! - I love African art so I'm a little biased of course, but I'm sure you will all agree that these sculptures are positively stunning. I wish I had won the lottery and could afford to buy them... See the little video here if you want to know more about this exhibition and about Marie B who made them.