5 free exhibitions to see in October 2024 in France

An unexpected dialogue between a 17th century painter^e century and a contemporary artist at the Grenoble museum, a focus on theart inuit in Paris, from street art on the Seine…: like every month, the harvest of free exhibitions does not lack allure or diversity.

Enough to confirm the cultural dynamism of this exceptionally rich start to the school year, of which we have already informed you of the best cultural outings throughout France, as well as the festivals, literary outings, Parisian nightlife and shows. Onward to art!

On the Seine, an XXL exhibition of Speedy Graphito

He is one of the pioneers of street art in France: Speedy Graphitowhose real name is Olivier Rizzo (born in 1961), escaped from the street to take refuge on the barge of the Fluctuart floating urban art centermoored in the 7^e district of Paris. The hyperactive painter, who compiles symbols and figures from popular culture into intense colorful compositions, invests the boat with a monumental workas long as an urban fresco… And in volumes! For this work which plays on unusual associations, the artist having fun with art historyrevealing – more or less disguised – motifs from Johannes Vermeer, Damien Hirst, Diego Vélasquez, Piet Mondrian, Sandro Botticelli and even Eugène Delacroix. Enough to orchestrate a little identification game with your visiting companion, and to bet on a drink at the barge bar.

At the Canadian Cultural Center, immersion in Inuit art

Too rare in France, theart inuit finds a special place this fall at the Canadian Cultural Center. The institution, located in 8^e district of Paris, reactivates one of the “great successes in the history of the Center”, explains curator Catherine Bédard, an exhibition produced in 2013 thanks to the collection of Claude Baud and Michel Jacot, and rich in dozens of works on paper and sculptures. In addition to resuming part of its hanging, the exhibition intends to celebrate longevity from a cooperative of Inuit artistsestablished since 1959 in the village of Kinngait, focusing on its exceptional production. “Three generations of artists” are represented here, explains Catherine Bédard, covering around fifty years of creation. Another artist completes the panorama: Shuvinai Ashoona (born in 1961) is not part of the collection of Claude Baud and Michel Jacot, but was noticed until the Venice Biennale, and “makes us see the contemporary Inuit world in a completely different way”, supports the commissioner, with particular emphasis on “the real problems associated with the transformed, even traumatized, life of this culture. ” Exciting.

At Maubuisson Abbey, two artists explore the invisible

It is one of the most beautiful sites in Val-d’Oise: the Maubuisson Abbey, accustomed to contemporary art exhibitions, has this time invited Cécile Beau (born in 1978) and Grégoire Scalabre (born in 1974) to interact with its heritage and its landscape. The two artists do not work as a duo, but their research overlaps. A graduate of the Fine Arts of Tarbes and Marseille as well as Fresnoy, Cécile Beau likes to be interested in “phenomena that are too slow, too distant or too discreet for the human time scale”, she explains, through works where sound and plastic interact. Trained at the Beaux-Arts in Dijon and at the Institute of French Ceramics in Sèvres, Grégoire Scalabre creates spectacular sculptures from porcelain elementswhich lose their utilitarian functions to scatter into atoms of beauty and harmony… Their dialogue, initiated by the abbey, fits into an interesting program of discussions, dance visits and performances.

Chez Reiffers Art Initiatives, Ugo Rondinone and mentor Tarek Lakhrissi

Every year, since 2021, the Reiffers Art Initiatives endowment fund offers an established artist the opportunity to take a young art crop under their wing, to a mentoring that ends in a dialogue exhibition. After Rashid Johnson and Kenny Dunkan, Kehinde Wiley and Alexandre Diop, and Lorna Simpson and Gaëlle Choisne, this fall is always great Ugo Rondinone (born in 1964) and Tarek Lakhrissi (born in 1992). A promising duo, enthusiastically recounts Thibaut Wychowanok, artistic director of Reiffers Art Initiatives: “With his impressive, colorful and particularly attractive works, Ugo Rondinone manages to capture our attention to take us into fascinating meditations on the cycle of life, the nature and the world, between enchantment and melancholy. Tarek Lakhrissi shares with his mentor the same ability to catch the eye with attractive shapes that are much more complex or twisted than they appear. Like him, he explores all mediums in a vast labyrinth of proposals. Above all, both have in common a eminently poetic vision of the world and a keen sense of installation and space. » To be discovered during the great week of contemporary art.

At the Grenoble museum, an unexpected dialogue between Philippe de Champaigne and Pierre Buraglio

My first is one of the most important figures of French painting in the 17th century^e century ; my second, a contemporary artist, compulsive experimenter close during the 1960s to the Supports/Surfaces group. For the very first time, the Grenoble museum (who recently changed director, Guy Tosatto having given way to Sébastien Gökalp) orchestrates a meeting between a classical artist and a living visual artistand moves its permanent collections. Invited to spend the summer at the museum, Pierre Buraglio (born in 1939) thus drew in front of the canvases of Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674). These very recent works will be shown following a rich tour of nine paintings by the Richelieu portraitist – including a beautiful Saint John the Baptist (around 1656) – and around forty drawings from the 17th^e century, signed Charles Le Brun (1619–1690) or Laurent de La Hyre (1606–1656).