The Louvre, besides collaborating with FIAC, is participating in the Autumn Festival . From September 17th to November 15th 2009, the museum is hosting the contemporary artist Ugo Rondinone and exhibiting SUNRISE EAST, twelve bronze sculptures, at the Tuileries Gardens around the Grand Bassin rond – the artist will be on display alongside CENTQUATRE.
From Pierre Soulages to Michel Paysant and Joseph Kosuth, the Louvre continues to expand its policy with regard to contemporary art.
Up to January 18th, echoing Pierre Soulages' retrospective at the Centre Pompidou, the Louvre is exhibiting the artist’s painting in the Denon wing of Salon Carré next to The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello.
Jan Fabre’s film, Art Kept me out of Jail. Homage to Jacques Mesrine, which was made at the Louvre, will be showing on December 4th.
In addition to Yan Pei-Ming and Jan Fabre, the museum has, from October 22nd 2009 to January 18th 2010, invited Joseph Kosuth, a major figure in the American conceptual art world. The artist has chosen to work in the moats of the medieval Louvre and write on the old walls of the ramparts, the dungeon and the Saint-Louis hall using neon. Fifteen sentences thought up and rendered in minimalist fashion by the artist all along the route evoke the complexity of relationships between history, archeology and the visitor's experience.
Michel Paysant, who had a showing at Mudam recently, questions our level of consciousness through our visual perception of art from November 26th 2009 to March 1st 2010. Michel Paysant will be displaying a modello of a cylinder seal measuring about 4 meters long and a dozen nano reproductions, sometimes invisible to the human eye, on furniture he has designed himself. On the wall, maps, photographs of these nano objects and scanned images extend this analysis into a blending of art and science. This exposition is a link between the work of museum curators and researchers and the concerns of a contemporary artist about collaborative efforts, archiving, museology, the status of an artwork and the contribution of new technologies.
Every year in autumn, the Louvre gives carte blanche to a prominent artistic or intellectual personality to develop a multidisciplinary program and add a personal touch to the museum's permanent works. After Pierre Boulez last year, the Louvre has, in 2009, invited Umberto Eco, who is offering a journey through the history of art, literature and music, based on the theme of the « list ». An opening conference on November 2nd will mark the beginning of a list of twenty events. The Louvre is showcasing an exhibition of ancient and contemporary graphic art called Mille e tre, which brings together a number of French and international artists, including John Baldessari, Louise Bourgeois, Maurizio Cattelan, Hamish Fulton, Annette Messager, Roman Opalka, Anne and Patrick Poirrier, Richard Serra, Herman de Vries.... As part of this program, Christian Boltanski and Jacques Roubaud have designed a book, Les Habitants du Louvre, in the form of play-lists. Claude Closky will be the guest at an evening of readings and screenings in the auditorium on November 13th.
In 2007, the palace finally inaugurated a monumental painting and two sculptures by Anselm Kiefer. This year, the museum commissioned new perennial decor from François Morellet. François Morellet elegantly and discreetly redecorated the bay windows of the Lefuel staircase. The inauguration of L’Esprit d’Escalier is expected in early 2010. Then, in April, the American Cy Twombly will be entrusted with the museum’s third permanent order, the painting of the ceiling of the hall of Greek bronzes.
Interactive floor plans
