In one of the oldest galleries in Paris, more than twenty works from the series Les Fables de La Fontaine will be on show for the very first time. Produced between 1926 and 1927, the series was commissioned by art dealer, publisher, and writer Ambroise Vollard to illustrate the eponymous book. It was a choice that was misunderstood at the time: Why ask a Russian painter to interpret the most French of poets? It was precisely this paradox that interested Vollard. The result is a series of free and exuberant works, as well as ten other works by the artist.
Tomona Matsukawa, Finally, 2024, Huile sur lin montée sur panneauTomona Matsukawa, Courtesy Ceysson & Bénétière
Tomona Matsukawa, As I am at Gallery Ceysson & Bénétière
Dates: Now until July 13
There is something striking about the ultra-realistic works of Japanese artist Tomona Matsukawa. Born in 1987 in Aichi, she graduated from Tama University in 2011, and quickly specialized in oil painting. Her works, however, have a distinctive quality. Born from conversations with women of her generation, her portraits depict remnants of everyday life, like fragments of banality, made exceptional by the same process. These realistic canvases take on a dramatic aspect, whether they represent a mobile phone screen, a delicate earring, or a damaged notebook. It’s a way of highlighting life’s great vulnerability by rendering even the smallest moments beautiful.
Ellsworth Kelly, Four Greens, Upper Manhattan Bay, 1957, Collage sur carte postale / Collage on postcard, 8,6 × 13 cm, Collection particulière / Private collectionEllsworth Kelly Foundation
Matisse, L’Atelier rouge at the Fondation Louis Vuitton
Dates: Now until September 9
Comparative exhibitions are undoubtedly one of the great successes of the Fondation Louis Vuitton—and it will do exactly that by putting Henri Matisse’s work face to face with that of Ellsworth Kelly. Titled L’Atelier rouge, referencing the 1911 Matisse masterpiece, this exhibition gathers the works from his renowned red studio for the first time, complemented by previously unreleased archival documents and pieces, offering insights into the central painting’s origins and the journey behind its creation. The exhibition devoted to Ellsworth Kelly’s art is titled Forms and Colours (1949–2015), to emphasize the influence of Matisse on his vision. Matisse’s radical decision to saturate the surface with a layer of red paint captivated Ellsworth Kelly, ultimately reshaping the trajectory of his life, which began in 1923 in New York state, just about 100 years ago. This exhibition is an anniversary, and the opening of a dialogue to find new avenues of reflection, as much on the disciple as on his master.
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