At Gagosian Le Bourget on the outskirts of Paris, a mezzanine viewing level encircles the main gallery space so that visitors can look down into an installation. Even if Jean Nouvel, who was responsible for repurposing the former industrial building in 2012, gave deliberate thought to this architectural feature, he still would not have anticipated the installation of the late Walter De Maria’s Truth / Beauty sculptures, which are being presented posthumously as a solo show.
Although the series of works debuted in London earlier this year, also at Gagosian, their arrangement here arguably offers an enhanced reading of his intention. With four polished stainless steel rods allocated to a granite base, each of the 14 sculptures alternate between a chevron or an X formation. Paired together like some sort of binary code, they seem to appear in identical repetition from a distance; closer inspection, however, reveals how the pairs begin with five-sided rods and successively increase by two, so that there are 17 sides to the rods in the final grouping.
The earliest work in the exhibition is a series of drawings, 'The Pure Polygon Series (1975–76)', comprising seven hand-drawn pencil drawings that begin with a triangle and follow with six additional shapes in succession. © The Estate of Walter De Maria. Courtesy of Gagosian.
People familiar with De Maria’s work will know that he often returned to permutations of polished rods; in fact, Large Rod Series: Circle/Rectangle 11, is other principal work comprising this show, and the installation of 11-sided rods atop an early-nineteenth century Indian Agra carpet (loaned by Galleria Moshe Tabibnia in Milan) projects a striking contrast between the mighty gleaming surfaces and the intricately woven traditional motifs. But where in London, the exhibition was presented as a linear series, the Le Bourget configuration is a counter-clockwise spiral.
When De Maria died in 2013 at the age of 77, he had yet to inscribe the words 'truth' and 'beauty' on opposite sides of each base. According to Gagosian specialist Kara Vander Weg, who worked with him for ten years until the end, he had yet to find the right engraver (Elizabeth Childress, his studio director who now oversees the Walter De Maria Archives, worked with Gagosian to locate an expert in Rhode Island).
The installation of 11-sided rods sits atop an early-nineteenth century Indian Agra carpet. © The Estate of Walter De Maria. Courtesy of Gagosian.
This is not the first time that De Maria imbued a work with language; but with these two words, he is inviting viewers to confront a powerful duality that has inspired and challenged philosophers and artists since the dawn of Plato. On this writer’s visit, guests were further encouraged to walk on the chalky white pile carpet that anchors the installation. As noted by Paris art academic Donatien Grau, who was present during the tour, the experience of circulating among the sculptures subsequently raises the possibility of ‘entering truth and beauty.’
But perhaps it's worth considering how the works might have been interpreted had they been left as they were at his death. Would viewers have arrived at these two words on their own without seeing them spelled out over and over again? Do the sculptures register more like a memorial in this context? Vander Weg believes he would have been satisfied with the result. ‘I think it is important to have the words engraved on the sculptures. But I mean, we’ll never know. It’s an interesting thought.’ Indeed, one can't help but think of Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn: ‘"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,"— that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’
Installation view of 'Walter De Maria' at Gagosian. © The Estate of Walter De Maria. Couresty of Gagosian.
INFORMATION
'Truth / Beauty' runs until 11 February 2017. For more information, visit the Gagosian website
ADDRESS
Gagosian Le Bourget
26 Avenue de l'Europe Le Bourget
Paris, 93350
-
In Shanghai, Hermès conjures a ‘cosmopolitan explorer’ for its one-off show on the Huangpu RiverNadège Vanhée, artistic director of Hermès’ womenswear collections, presented ‘The Second Chapter’ of her A/W 2025 collection earlier this evening (13 June 2025) against the futuristic skyline of Shanghai
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Peugeot brings back a classic performance badge for the electric era: meet the E-208 GTiPeugeot has unveiled the new E-208 GTi, a performance EV designed to hark back to a golden age of compact sports cars
-
A song for the dead – Josh Homme on performing for six million souls in the bowels of the Paris CatacombsA rock band, a brush with death and an underground tomb coalesce in haunting new Queens of the Stone Age film, ‘Alive in the Catacombs’. Wallpaper* meets frontman Josh Homme and director Thomas Rames
-
The glory years of the Cannes Film Festival are captured in a new photo book‘Cannes’ by Derek Ridgers looks back on the photographer's time at the Cannes Film Festival between 1984 and 1996
-
Technology, art and sculptures of fog: LUMA Arles kicks off the 2025/26 seasonThree different exhibitions at LUMA Arles, in France, delve into history in a celebration of all mediums; Amy Serafin went to explore
-
Contemporary artist collective Poush takes over Château La CosteMembers of Poush have created 160 works, set in and around the grounds of Château La Coste – the art, architecture and wine estate in Provence
-
‘David Hockney 25’: inside the artist’s blockbuster Paris show‘David Hockney 25’ has opened at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Wallpaper’s Hannah Silver took a tour of the colossal, colourful show
-
Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
-
‘The Black woman endures a gravity unlike any other’: Pharrell Williams explores diverse interpretations of femininity in ParisPharrell Williams returns to Perrotin gallery in Paris with a new group show which serves as an homage to Black women
-
What makes fashion and art such good bedfellows?There has always been a symbiosis between fashion and the art world. Here, we look at what makes the relationship such a successful one
