Coming to Paris during the first months of 2022? Here are 10 recommended art exhibits that you will enjoy and that will increase your knowledge of the art scene in Paris.
1 - Gaston Paris, Reporter — Photography as Spectacle / Centre Pompidou
From January 19th to April 18th 2022
For lovers of photography, especially photos of Paris in the 1930’s
Gaston Paris, a talented photographer and attentive reporter: his photographs in VU magazine captured the spirit of Paris in the 1930’s. This exhibit shows the important role of photography in the surrealist movement. Gaston Paris is largely unknown today, but he was a virtuoso technician and astute observer of the social scene in Paris.
Centre Pompidou, Place Georges Pompidou, 4e, Metro Rambuteau
Other things to do in the neighborhood: Take time to visit the Marais and the Musée Carnavalet ( the museum of the history of Paris).
2 - Pamela Tulizo, Face to Face / Maison Européenne de la Photographie
From January 21st to March 13th 2022
Photographs by a young Congolese photographer whose works question how women are regarded in her country.
Born in 1994 in Bakavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pamela Tulizo grew up in Goma, in a region torn apart during the civil war and known for the plague of sexual violence perpetrated against women. She won the Dior Prize for Visual Arts for Young Talents in 2020. Her photos capture the double identity of Congolese women both as devalued victims and as fighters against social injustices. More recent photos in the exhibit from her recent series « Paradise Hell, » were inspired by the Covid 19 epidemic and show models in magnificent dresses made from essential products such as food and charcoal.
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, 5/7 Rue Force, 4e, Metro Saint Paul
Other things to do in the neighborhood: The Place des Vosges is a must-see and you’ll be close enough to do both things the same day.
3 - Hey! The Drawing / Halle Saint-Pierre - Montmartre
From January 22nd to December 31st 2022
Alternative art that wants to provoke surprise, curiosity, amazement, rejection, attraction, emotion and anxiety.
The exhibit brings together sixty international artists, in addition to works from Japanese prisoners as well as preliminary sketches for graffiti. It provides an overview of a contemporary aesthetic in which the creative energy of the counterculture is a double force of both proposition and contestation. The artistic otherness is presented in its diversity and complexity as a form of resistance against the impoverishment of our collective imagination.
Halle Saint-Pierre, 2 Rue Ronsard, 18e, Metro Anvers
Other things to do in the neighborhood: A great exhibit to take in on your visit to Montmartre
4- Boilly. Chroniques Parisiennes / Musée Cognac-Jay
From February 16th to June 26th, 2022
Louis-Léopold Boilly , a painter who during 60 years chronicled the Paris of his time: its modernity, its effervescence, its shows and it joie de vivre.
Boilly’s paintings of life in Paris (1789 - 1848) and particularly of Parisian faces is masterful. His studies of expressions often double as caricatures that show his offbeat (sometimes biting) regard for his fellow Parisians. He painted scenes in cafés at carnivals and at the departure of stagecoaches. His paintings reveal the joy he took observing everyday life in his Paris.
Musée Cognac-Jay, 8 Rue Elzevir, 3e, Metro, Saint Paul
Other things to do in the neighborhood: From the Cognac-Jay museum, it’s a short wall to either the Picasso museum or the Carnavalet museum if you feel like doing 2 museums in one day. If you don’t, the Place des Vosges is a great place for a picnic or just to relax after your museum visit.
5 - Cézanne, Lumières de Provence (Lights of Provence) / L'Atelier des Lumières
From February 2nd 2022 to January 2, 2023
An intimate and introspective exhibit revealing Cézanne’s deep torment over portraying light and colors and his connection to nature.
An immersion into Cézanne’s passion and torment in representing nature: trees and forests, and parks and gardens leading to some of his excellent works: Bibémus, l’Estaque and Sainte-Victoire. There are also self-portraits showing his inner torment brought by the calming daily life in Aix and the atmosphere of his workshop. The exhibit traces a line of nature though his major works toward Provence and Sainte-Victoire.
L’Atelier des Lumières, 38 Rue Saint Maure, 11e, Metro, Saint Maur
Other things to do in the neighborhood: If you have the energy, the Père Lachaise cemetery is a short walk from the museum and worth a visit.
6 - Pionnières, Artistes dans Paris des années folles / Musée de Luxembourg
(Pioneers, (Female) Artists in Paris in the Crazy Years (1920’s)
From March 2nd to July 10th, 2022
The primary role of women in the development of the great artistic movements of modernism
These pioneers, born at the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century were finally allowed to study at the great schools of art, which had previously been reserved for men. In the ‘Roaring 20’s’ many of them spent several weeks up to several years in Paris. They were the first to be able to be recognized as artists, own a studio, a gallery or a publishing house, direct workshops in schools of art, and represent nude bodies, both masculine and feminine. The exhibit shows their contributions to modernism with paintings, sculptures, photographs, films, textiles, and literature.
Musée de Luxembourg, 19 rue de Vaugirard, 6e, RER, Luxembourg
Other things to do in the neighborhood: If the weather is nice, the Luxembourg Gardens are a great place for a comforting stroll and it’s always fun to explore the Latin Quarter.
7 - Aux sources des Nymphéas : les impressionnistes et la décoration / Musée de l’Orangerie
(To the Sources of the Water-Lilies : the Impressionists and Decoration)
From March 2nd to July 11th, 2022
Did the Impressionists think they were creating decorations? This exhibit makes a convincing case for « Yes. »
What we see in Impressionist paintings, the landscapes, flowers, and scenes of modern life were originally thought of as decorations by the artists. Paying attention to the place of beauty in everyday life, the Impressionists made their art a field of experimentation, exploring all the possibilities of various media. The exhibit includes works by Cassatt, Cézanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro and Renoir.
Musée de l’Orangerie, Jardin des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde (côté Seine), Paris 1e, Metro, Concorde
Other things to do in the neighborhood: The Tuileries Gardens are a great place to have a leisurely stroll and if it’s cold outside (or even if it isn’t) go to Angelina, across the 'Rue de Rivoli' where you will find some of the best hot chocolate in Paris.
8 - Love Brings Love, le défilé hommage à Alber Elbaz / Palais Galliera
(The Procession Honoring Alber Elbaz)
From March 5th to July 10th 2022
Contemporary Parisian fashion design inspired by the creation or person of Albert Elbaz.
Elbaz became famous for flowing dresses with long trains, short dresses enlivened by fluttering fabric or large knots, and dresses printed with his own portrait. The Palais Galliera wanted to pay homage to Alber Elbaz by organizing an exhibit that recreated the procession of designs by 46 well known designers following his death, and invites you to immerse yourself in the effects, music and light that made this evening an historic event.
Palais Galliera - musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, 10 avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, Paris 16e, Metro, Alma Marceau
Other things to do in the neighborhood: This is a neighborhood of some of the best of the capital’s museums including the Musée Guimet (National Museum of Asian Arts) and the Palais de Tokyo ( Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art).
9 - Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) - Lumières de Finlande / Petit Palais
(Lights of Finland)
From March 10th to July 10th 2022
An Impressionist who mastered representing light in Scandinavian summers. Edelfelt was one of the pioneers of Finnish painting who studied and settled in Paris. His style is a mixture of impressionism and realism. He spent his summers in Finland where his landscapes showed both his love of his country and his mastery of technique. A very popular artist in Scandinavia, this retrospective reintroduces to Parisians someone who was equally popular in France in the late 19th century.
Petit Palais - Musée des beaux-arts de la Ville de Paris, 2 avenue Winston-Churchill, Paris 8e, Metro, Champs Elysées Clemenceau
Other things to do in the neighborhood : The Champs Elysées is at one end of avenue Winston Churchill and the Seine river at the other. A perfect place of go for a walk and enjoy the beauty of Paris.
10 - Gallen-Kallela, Mythes et nature (Myths and Nature) / Musée Jacquemart-André
From March 11th to July 25th
An exhibit of Finnish nature and country landscapes painted when her contemporaries focused on urban modernism
Tracing the career of this major Finnish painter, the exhibit highlights how Gallen-Kallela was able to represent Finland with an incomparable lyricism. He anchored his works in the majestic beauty of savage nature following the seasons. His landscapes vibrate with all the strength of Nature as it was expressed in Nordic myths and sacred texts.
Musée Jacquemart-André, 158 boulevard Haussmann, Paris 8e, Metro, Miromesnil
Other things to do in the neighborhood: The Jacquemart-André Museum has one of the nicest tea rooms in Paris. When you’re there, notice the ceiling painting by Tiepolo!
Written by Eliot Goldman and edited by Pamela Breit
