French Art and Culture Happenings – January 2024

December 30, 2023

Winter is always such a great time to visit all of the wonderful exhibits various museums have to offer. Here is a roundup of some of the upcoming French art and culture events for January 2024 and beyond. Paris is an art and architecture lovers dream, with all the museums there are to explore. And if you can’t make it to Paris, there are some French exhibitions and movie screenings here in the U.S. coming up soon. Click on the title to access exhibit and ticket information.

Political Animal by Gilles Aillaud- 4 Oct 2023 – 26 Feb 2024, Centre Pompidou

Painter Gilles Aillaud paints the relationship between humans and animals in this thoughtful exhibition, and questions our relationship with nature.

« Ours noir, » 1982 © DR © ADAGP, Paris, 2023

L’art urbain à l’ère numérique- Grand Palais Imersif, 6 December-21 July 2024

The exciting exhibit retells the tale of urban art while showing how technologies have impacted the work of artists in this field. From paintings created using drones, to graffiti to larger than life murals, visitors are immersed in art in modern times.

Mark Rothko- Foundation Louis Vuitton, 18 October, 2023- 2 April, 2024

This exhibition is a curation of 115 of Rothko’s work all at the amazing Fondation Louis Vuitton. Rothko’s work has been brought in from around the world, such as the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Tate in London. This show is a rare opportunity to discover a full life’s work of an amazing artist.

“Untitled Yellow Orange”, by Mark Rothko. Image taken by gscinparis, 2019 at the Palm Springs Art Museum

Nicolas de Staël- Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, September 15, 2023- January 21, 2024

The Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris is exhbiting a retrospective of the work of Nicolas de Staël (1914-1955), a key figure of the post-war French art scene. This exhibition provides a new look at the artist’s work, examining more recent thematic exhibitions that have highlighted certain little-known aspects of his career (Antibes in 2014, Le Havre in 2014, Aix-en-Provence in 2018).

Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso- Musée du Luxembourg, September 13, 2023 – January 28, 2024

Many museums have been offering various exhibitions around Pablo Picasso, to mark the 50th anniversary of the prolific artist’s death. The Picasso Museum in Paris had a fun take with an update to the museum by British designer Paul xx. Meanwhile, the Musée du Luxembourg has put together a significant exhibition on the story of an fantastic friendship between two icons of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso and Gertrude Stein.

Pablo Picasso, image taken by gscinparis, 2023 at the Picasso Museum in Paris, France

The Treasury of Notre-Dame Cathedral – Louvre Museum, October 18, 2023 until January 29, 2024

If I could go to Paris just to see this exhibition I would! As the restoration work on the cathedral enters its final stage, the Musée du Louvre is offering an unprecedented exhibition of the treasury of Notre-Dame de Paris. This treasury includes religious objects and vestments necessary for worship, relics and reliquaries, manuscript books and other precious artefacts given as acts of piety. At the end of the exhibition, these items will then return to the cathedral’s neo-Gothic sacristy. A must-see!

Photo of the Notre Dame Cathedral by gscinparis from July 2022

Paris Fashion Week 2024, January 16 – January 21, 2024

For fashion lovers, this is the preeminent event!

Mode et Sport, d’un podium à l’autre, Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, until 7 April 2024

With the Summer Olympics coming to Paris in 2024, the Musée des Arts décoratifs de Paris is presenting “Mode et sport, d’un podium à l’autre” (Fashion and Sports, from one podium to another). This exhibition explores the fascinating links between fashion and sports, from antiquity to modern times.

Iris van Herpen, Sculpting the Senses, Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, until 28 April 2024

Also at the Musée des Arts décoratifs is an exhibit of the work of famous fashion designer, Iris van Herpen. Known as a forward thinking pioneer in her use of new technologies, Iris van Herpen used both traditional Couture craftmanship and innovative techniques.

Métro ! Le Grand Paris en mouvement, Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, until 02 June 2024

With the arrival of the GPE or the Grand Paris Express, this exhibition is entirely dedicated to the history of the metro and the urban transformations that followed.

French Art and Culture In the U.S, January 2024:

Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah, January 18-28, 2024

The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the nonprofit, Sundance Institute, is the essential event for original storytellers and audiences seeking independent voices and fresh perspectives. Since 1985, hundreds of films launched at the festival have gone on to gain critical acclaim and reach new audiences worldwide.

The 2024 lineup includes six French co-productions, including Cannes’ opening film Àma Gloria by French director Marie Achoukeli.

Click here for tickets.

French-American Histories, one story, two narratives, Washington D.C.

“French-American Histories, one story, two narratives | Washington, DC” is a program of curatorial talks proposed by Villa Albertine. Each episode explores a different aspect of the incredible history of French-American relations. Dr. Iris de Rode, an expert in the history of French-American relations, conducts interviews with leading scholars and experts. This is an ongoing series and the interviews will be recorded monthly at the French Embassy or other locations in the United States.

French Perspectives at the Chicago Architecture Biennial, through February 11th, 2024

Many of the events have already taken place, but there are a few remaining events from now until February 11th.

“Camille Claudel” at the Art Institute of Chicago, through February 2024

The female French sculptor Camille Claudel (1864–1943) defied the social expectations of her time to pursue original and powerful explorations of the human form. This exhibition features some 60 sculptures from more than 30 institutional and private lenders, the presentation gathers her key compositions.

Vertigo of Color: Matisse, Derain and the Origins of Fauvism, at the Met Museum in NYC through January 21, 2024

From the Met website, “Over an intense nine weeks in the summer of 1905 in the modest fishing village of Collioure on the French Mediterranean, Henri Matisse and Andre Derain embarked on a partnership that led to a wholly new, radical artistic language later known as Fauvism. Their daring, energetic experiments with color, form, structure, and perspective changed the course of French painting; it marked an introduction to early modernism and introduced Matisse’s first important body of work in his long career.“

“THE TASTE OF THINGS” at the American Cinematheque in Santa Monica, CA from January 10 through January 12, 2024

“The Taste of Things” starring Juliette Binoche is France’s Official Oscar Submission for Best International Feature Film this year. Binoche plays a 19th century cook and her gourmet employer.

This event is taking place at:

AERO THEATRE
1328 Montana Ave
Santa Monica, 90403