Hot Right Now

Cultural Events & Inspiration: Discover the best cultural addresses in Paris right now.

PARIS BALLET & OPERA

THE 2014/2015 S E ASO N

Following the announcement of the Paris Opera Ballet 2014/2015 season in March, it’s time to start planning your cultural calendar. As the last season to be directed by Brigitte Lefèvre (who will be replaced by Benjamin Millepied as the Director of Dance), discover exciting new works by Pierre Rigal and John Neumeier, guest performances by the Royal Swedish Ballet, and the culmination of Lefèvre’s own contemporary commissions for the Opera, including Jose Martinez’s “Les Enfants du Paradis”. Lovers of classical ballet should book early for Nureyev’s iconic duo, “ e Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake”, while Pierre Lacotte’s “Paquita” and Frederick Ashton’s “La Fille Mal Gardée” promise to be sellout performances.

HENRI-CARTIER BRESSON C ENTR E POMPIDO U

12.02 - 09.06 More than a retrospective of worldfamous street-photographer Henri CartierBresson, this fascinating exhibition at the Centre Pompidou sheds new light on the artist’s life, political leanings and little-known Surrealist works. Bresson’s lens captured the 20th century like no other, and the Pompidou’s chronological framework leads visitors through over 350 works which showcases the world’s major events in one awe-inspiring show: from the roaring 20s, to the human rights movement and Ghandi’s funeral. The exhibition also reveals a rare glimpse of the artist’s personal life in family albums, early paintings and portraits of the man himself. A must-visit exhibition for lovers of photography.

Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris +33 1 44 78 12 33 | centrepompidou.fr

Van Gogh

11.03 - 06.07 Prior to the opening of a Vincent van Gogh exhibition in Paris in 1947, gallery owner Pierre Loeb suggested that Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) write about the painter. Challenging the thesis of alienation, Artaud was determined to show how van Gogh’s exceptional lucidity made lesser minds uncomfortable. Wishing to prevent him from uttering certain “intolerable truths”, those who were disturbed by his painting drove him to suicide. This exhibition, The Man Suicided by Society, comprises forty paintings, a series of van Gogh’s drawings and letters, together with graphic works by the poet-illustrator.

1 rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris | musee-orsay.fr

Rob Ert Mapplethorpe

GRA N D PA L AIS

26.03 - 13.07 A major highlight of the Grand Palais’s current art program is the ground-breaking exhibition of the works of art photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, whose stylised black and white photographs range from still lifes to erotic nudes. Displaying over 200 images from his brief, yet brilliant career, discover one man’s quest for aesthetic perfection at this thrilling photography exhibition in one of Paris’s most iconic museums.

3 avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris +33 1 44 13 17 17 | grandpalais.fr

Lucio Fontana Retrospective

MU SÉ E D’A RT MOD E R NE (MAM)

25.04 - 24.08

The Musée d’Art Moderne is currently hosting a major retrospective of abstract visionary, Lucio Fontana, showcasing over 200 works which trace the life and career of this acclaimed Argentinan artist. One of the world’s great pioneers of abstraction, Fontana’s sculptures, installations and ceramics are brought together for the first time in France since 1987, charting the eclectic, ever-changing course of this radical artist’s career. From his rise in the 1930s, to his founding of the Spatialist movement in 1947 and beyond, discover Fontana’s unique explorations of light and space through his influential punctured canvases, sandstone sculptures and early terracottas.

11 avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris +33 1 53 67 40 00 | mam.paris.fr

Cutting-Edge

Art Galleries

Centre Pompidou

I N STIT U TIO N

Set within the visually impressive ‘inside out’ Centre Georges Pompidou, this museum displays over 1,400 permanent artworks from the 20th century until the present day, showcasing artists such as Matisse, Kandinsky, Duchamp, Rodchenko and Man Ray. This striking museum boasts the second largest collection of modern art in the world, following New York City’s MoMA.

Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris +33 1 44 78 12 33 | centrepompidou.fr

Le Bal

CU TTI N G -E DG E

Set within a building which was previously a cabaret, a ballroom and a ‘love hotel’ during the Années Folles, this cuttingedge art gallery was established in 2006 by the City of Paris as a dedicated space for exhibitions, production and documentary dialogues. Le Bal hosts a rich program of performances, debates, screenings and ambitious education program. Refuel at the fantastic in-house Le Bal cafe.

6 impasse de la Défense, 75018 Paris +33 1 44 70 75 50 | le-bal.fr