For the Couvent des Jacobins, Laurent Grasso thought of a work that could be installed in the framework of the original bay windows, integrated into the architecture of the new Congress Center by Jean Guervilly. Each bay window is equipped with brass-plated prism-shaped modules. These modules, integrated into the ribs of the former bay windows, rotate in a synchronized manner. The movement of the reflecting surfaces produces a feeling of hypnotic strangeness and transforms the bay windows of the former convent into screens for mental projections.
CONCERT: BILLIE EILISH BY TAKASHI MURAKAMI AT THE RELEASE PARTY FOR GARAGE MAGAZINE
NEW YORK
February 5, 2019
Laurent Grasso publicly unveiled a new visual enigma in one of the high places of knowledge. In the context of the building of a new auditorium by architect Marc Barani for the Institut de France, located on the Quai de Conti, the artist imagined a nocturnal work composed of a set of onyx sculptures which form a constellation of illuminated points. Created from a selection of signs and geometric shapes, those ten elements punctuate a course beginning from the rue Mazarine and ending in the courtyard located in front of the auditorium, casting a strange atmosphere over the exterior spaces of the Palais de l’Institut: one that instigates daydreaming. Conceived for this hub of academic work, these sculptures were inspired by art history and the science of symbols, as well as the historical building of the Institut and the visual world of the artist.
For the National Museum of Qatar, in dialogue with Jean Nouvel’s architecture, Jean-Michel Othoniel created a monumental installation of 114 fountain sculptures. ALFA covers the entire surface of the gigantic lagoon, which measures 8,800 square meters, and is by far the biggest of all the monumental projects Othoniel has ever created, five times larger than his artwork permanently installed at Versailles in 2015.
The lagoon is located between the National Museum of Qatar and the Persian Gulf, at the entrance of the city of Doha. This unique location gives amazing visibility to this public artwork from the Corniche, the museum, and the sea.
The 114 sculptures arise like majestic black reeds along the 900-meter-long shores of the lagoon designed by Jean Nouvel. Walking around the lagoon, the viewer will discover, from various angles, silhouettes reflected on the water that evoke the beauty of Arabic calligraphy. At moments the sculptures are transformed into fountains, launching arabesques of water toward the sky, hugging the curves of the museum’s architecture, echoing the shape of desert roses.
KIDS WORKSHOP AROUND SOL LEWITT EXHIBITION
SHANGHAI
MARCH 2019
TALK BY LEE MINGWEI
TOKYO
MAY 16, 2019
CONCERT OF FLAVIEN BERGER AND DJ SET OF SAMUEL BOUTRUCHE FOR OPENING OF "SANS REPENTIR" BY BERNARD FRIZE
LE GEORGES, CENTRE POMPIDOU, PARIS
MAY 27, 2019
