Among the must-see exhibitions in Europe, Corps et Âmes undoubtedly stands out for the exceptional quality of its artworks and the central theme that runs through it: the relationship between body and soul. This theme is not just a connecting thread between certain works in the collection but a key to understanding its identity—like a constantly evolving, ever-changing body.

For years, the Pinault Collection has functioned as a living organism, absorbing stories, tensions, and visions, reflecting on the great questions of contemporary human existence, and promoting art as its most authentic form of expression. In Corps et Âmes, each artwork resonates with its own intensity, intertwining with others in a layered dialogue—like a symphony of voices.

If you plan to visit before August 25, 2025, you might want to set this reading aside and immerse yourself in the experience without spoilers.
But if you can’t make it, we’ll take you on a journey through this unmissable exhibition.

Opening the exhibition is Meine neue Mütze (2003), a monumental self-portrait in cedar wood in which a young Georg Baselitz holds a skull in his hands, evoking a stark contrast between innocence and death. With its totemic presence, it introduces the viewer to the dreamlike figures of Gideon Appah, suspended between dream and memory, and to the historic 24 display cases arranged around the rotunda of the Bourse de Commerce.

Originally intended to showcase commercial projects, these display cases now host Ali Cherri’s installation, transforming them into a journey inspired by Le Sang d'un poète (1930) by Jean Cocteau. Calligraphed phrases from the film emerge on the glass surfaces, creating a dialogue between past and present, between reality and fiction. The exhibited artifacts oscillate between archaeological relic and contemporary creation, questioning the value of historical testimony and its interpretation over time.

At the center of the rotunda pulses a work of immense symbolic power: Love is the Message, the Message is Death (2016) by Arthur Jafa. A visceral montage of archival footage and found videos, it reconstructs African American history through a collage of images that alternate between violence, injustice, cultural appropriation, simulacra, and the elevation of figures to pop icons.

The visuals unfold to the soundtrack of Ultralight Beam by Kanye West—a song that, in 2016, seemed to embody a message of hope and transcendence but today adds another layer of meaning to the work, carrying with it the inevitable ambiguity tied to its creator.

Jafa’s installation reverberates beneath the grand dome of the building, bouncing off the 1,400-square-meter fresco created in 1889 for the Chamber of Commerce. This monumental artwork represents the five continents in an imagery deeply connected to the expansionist vision of late 19th-century France. It guides visitors to the upper floor, where they are met by Duane Hanson’s hyperrealist painters, frozen in a moment of rest.

The room is bathed in the same intense pink that dominates Philip Guston’s paintings (Lamp, 1974; The Window, 1969)—fleshy masses from which fragments of restless forms emerge, almost like an epiphany, searching for meaning in a world scarred by the brutality of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King’s assassinations, racial uprisings from Chicago to Los Angeles, and the lynchings of the Ku Klux Klan.

The exploration of the body as a symbol, archive, or political instrument resurfaces in the silhouettes of Kara Walker, the drawings of William Kentridge, and the interventions of Robin Rhode and Anne Imhof. Painting plays a central role, featuring artists whose work stands out in the contemporary landscape for its expressive power. This is particularly evident in the three portraits by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, a London-based artist of Ghanaian descent. Her refined yet immediate painterly language captures both the depth of her subjects and the emotions of the viewer, with a bold brushstroke that recalls the traditions of Manet, Degas, and Goya.

The exhibition concludes with a grand finale set to the notes of Avignon (2014), Georg Baselitz’s monumental cycle of eight paintings—both dramatic and spectacular—towering over the viewer. First presented at the 2015 Venice Biennale curated by Okwui Enwezor, these canvases depict eight men turned upside down, frozen in an endless descent.

Their fall, stretched in time, takes on an almost hypnotic, pacified quality, transforming into a weightless dance. As the viewer absorbs the scene, echoes of portraits by Pablo Picasso, Lucas Cranach, Egon Schiele, and Edvard Munch emerge, paying tribute to the Masters of art history who made the human body the ultimate key to depicting the soul.

Hidden in the underground auditorium, the final movement unfolds: a group of young Jamaicans dances to dancehall under pouring rain, moving to the beat of amplified bass in Cecilia Bengolea’s black-and-white video. A powerful image of resistance and regeneration, it closes the exhibition with an explosion of energy and hope, like a final note left vibrating in the air.

Opening image: Duane Hanson, Housepainter I, 1984-1988