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Like many other major events on the cultural calendar, Paris’ FIAC week has had to explore alternative formats this year in light of the ongoing pandemic. With the usual art fair cancelled, local galleries, museums and other cultural venues are taking charge, in a bid to demonstrate that their city continues to be an essential destination for international art.
Still, the nave of the Grand Palais – its vast space under the conservatory-style glass roof – will not lie fallow. A programme titled ‘Wanted! Art is Yours at Grand Palais’ has been organised in collaboration with Galerie Perrotin for this weekend, 24-25 October. Billed as ‘an immense quest for contemporary art’, the programme invites visitors to scour the nave for 20 works of art that have been donated and hidden by Perrotin and its artists. The rules are simple: anyone who finds an artwork will leave with it.
Daniel Arsham, Quartz Eroded Bust of Diane the Hunter (Named Diane of Versailles), 2020.
The 20 artworks, listed on the programme website and on Instagram @wanted__gp, range from editioned lithographs to unique paintings and sculptures, and run the gamut of Perrotin’s impressive roster. A few harken back to major milestones in contemporary Parisian culture: a bronze sculpture of a starfish, by Elmgreen & Dragset, call to mind their Place Vendôme takeover for FIAC in 2018; while a JR print evokes the photographer and street artist’s paper trompe l’oeil over the Louvre Pyramid last year. A quartz eroded bust of the goddess Diana by Daniel Arsham (who has just opened an exhibition at the nearby Musée Guimet) is a sure standout, as are Bharti Kher’s Happy monkey girl statuette, and Jean-Michel Othoniel’s Collier Cicatrice, a sculpture of gleaming red Murano glass beads.
While the Grand Palais has capped its capacity at 20% as a social distancing measure, and visits require prior appointment, the event is notably open to all and free of charge. Beyond engaging with contemporary art, ‘Wanted!’ is also a last-minute opportunity to experience the interior of the Grand Palais, before it closes in December for two years of renovations.
Elmgreen & Dragset, La Promesse d’un Ciel la Nuit, 2020.
Chris Dercon, the institution’s president, hopes that the programme will bring a sense of fun and whimsy, much like a treasure hunt. ‘Here, the value of the work depends on the effort made by the visitors. Indeed, the true love of art is often a matter of chance: you often find what you were not really looking for,’ he reflects.
For gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin, ‘Wanted!’ is uniquely suited to the times. ‘Since we don’t know where we are going, it is almost as if anything is possible: immense, adventurous, and unapologetic projects make us feel connected to the world in this moment,’ he says. ‘Works of art are more precious than ever, which is why it is important to offer them to as many people as possible.’
JR, JR au Louvre et le Secret de la Grande Pyramide, Relique #21 © Pyramide, architecte I. M. Pei, musée du Louvre, Paris, France, 2019.
Bharti Kher, Happy monkey girl, 2018.
Artist Daniel Arsham discusses his contribution to ‘Wanted! Art is Yours at Grand Palais’. Video via @wanted__gp
INFORMATION
Entrance to ‘Wanted!’ is free of charge and by appointment only. perrotin.com
ADDRESS
Grand Palais
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower
75008 Paris