Must-see exhibitions in Paris during the summer olympics

The second chapter of the first exhibition previously held at the Museum of Lace and Fashion in Calais, the Parisian stop features curator Anne Dressen, who focused on the 'transparency' concept to offer a new perspective on the imagination of the founder of the Maison and thus on the connection between fashion, body, and nudity.

The exhibition features about forty iconic pieces designed by Yves Saint Laurent over the decades, including the first topless blouse from the 1968 spring-summer collection and the famous 'nude dress' from the following collection, and offers the opportunity to admire some lesser-known creations from SAINT LAURENT rive gauche. Completing the tour is a rich selection of drawings inspired by Goya's paintings, sketches, photographs, pattern templates and accessories, and works by Man Ray and Francis Picabia. Chiffon, lace, and tulle are just some of the fabrics that have encouraged the affirmation of female physicality. Opened on February 9, the exhibition will be available until August 25, 2024.

At the centre of the exhibition is the evolution of department stores in the historical, political, and social context of the Second Empire. The exhibition highlights the development, golden age, and consecration during the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative and Industrial Arts of iconic stores like "Le Bon Marché", "Les Magasins du Louvre", "Le Printemps", "La Samaritaine", and "Les Galeries Lafayette".

The exhibition questions the role these played in the diffusion of applied arts and the rise of the bourgeoisie, which, with its purchasing power, was the first customer of these new centres of consumption. From October 16, 2024, to March 16, 2025, the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine will present the second part of the exhibition, which focuses on the European history of department stores from the mid-19th century to the present day. It will explore the significance of architectural design in shaping the consumer experience, focusing on aspects such as exterior facades, the grandeur of interiors, and merchandise displays in department stores across France and Europe. The exhibition is open until October 13, 2024.

Until September 2, 2024, the Rotunda of the Bourse de Commerce hosts the work of South Korean artist Kimsooja, part of the "Le monde comme il va" project. With her carte blanche "To Breathe - Constellation," Kimsooja transforms the floor into a massive mirror, creating an inversion effect of the surrounding architecture.

The sky appears to open up at the centre of the building, right beneath the visitors' feet; Kimsooja also occupies the 24 showcases of the Passage and the lower floor of the museum with a selection of works and video installations that address the main themes of her research: identity, borders, memory, exile, movement, and weaving. Her selected works span nearly forty years of her artistic practice. Spherical objects, grains of sand, seeds, marbles, and fabric bottari become miniature worlds, microcosms that rotate on themselves. As the artist explains, she aims "to create works similar to water and air, which we cannot own but share with everyone."

The exhibition, curated by Hugo Vitrani, explores the complexity and dynamism of graffiti language. Freed from their aesthetic aspects, these become the mental and physical account of what resides at the “margins,” the surviving transcription of worlds historically and emotionally distant from us: from the traces of prehistoric hobos through individual childhood to the New York subway graffiti of the 1970s.

The graffiti selected by Vitrani emerges from buildings, corners, and cracks, transforming vandalism into an act of love and care for forgotten urban surfaces. The works on display belong to about forty international artists, including Ari Marcopoulos, Tania Mouraud, and Gordon Matta-Clark, forming a kaleidoscopic path where each personal vision stands out in the whole, shaping a fermenting imagination that reveals the ultra-visible and the ineffable. The exhibition runs from July 1 to September 29, 2024.

The "SECONDARY" exhibition, open until September 8, 2024, marks the return of Matthew Barney to France after nearly a decade. Central to the exhibition is his new five-channel video, "SECONDARY," which takes us to August 12, 1978, during a football game where Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders hit Darryl Stingley of the New England Patriots, leaving him paralyzed. This tragic incident, repeatedly broadcasted by sports programs, has remained etched in the memories of fans and young Barney, then a quarterback in a youth league. Today, the artist uses this event to explore the overlap between violence and its representation in sports.

The exhibition also includes a new ceramic sculpture and some of the earliest works from the "DRAWING RESTRAINT" series, started in 1987, exploring the relationship between resistance and creativity. For the occasion, Barney introduced the video "DRAWING RESTRAINT 27," shot in the spaces of the Fondation Cartier. This year, the foundation celebrates thirty years of collaboration with Barney, starting with the co-production of "CREMASTER 4" (1994), part of the Cremaster Cycle. For the anniversary, Fondation Cartier will organize a special screening of the entire cycle at the Christine Cinéma Club on June 29 and 30, 2024.

Set in the Pantheon, the 'Paralympic Stories' exhibition celebrates the history of the struggle for emancipation and equality of people with disabilities. It highlights how the Paralympic Games, which began in the mid-20th century, transformed the concept of inclusion and diversity. Curated by Anne Marcellini and Sylvain Ferez, the exhibition also tells the story of key figures in the Paralympic movement, with a particular tribute to Louis Braille, the inventor of the tactile writing system

 Along the way, archives, posters, photographs, sports equipment, and audiovisual documents highlight the integration of athletes with disabilities and the changes in the sports debate. The accessible exhibition includes audio stations, videos in Sign Language, multisensory paths, and captions in Braille. The exhibition runs from June 11 to September 29.

The exhibition at the Louvre, curated by Alexandre Farnoux, Violaine Jeammet, and Christina Mitsopoulou, celebrates the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and is ongoing until September 16, 2024. The exhibition offers a journey through the birth of the modern Olympic Games at the end of the 19th century, highlighting the political context of the time, iconographic sources, and the effort to recreate the competitions of ancient Greece.

This grand sporting competition, recognized as the largest in the world, was born from the idea of Pierre de Coubertin and other French and Greek luminaries; later joined by Emile Gilliéron (1850-1924), a Swiss draftsman and official artist of the 1896 and 1906 Olympics, both held in Athens. Inspired by the archaeological discoveries of the time, Gilliéron designed the trophies for the winners. The exhibition features significant works, such as the first Olympic Cup, the 'Bréal Cup,' showcasing how philology, history, art history, and archaeology contributed to the birth and evolution of the modern Games.