Chaque vie est une histoire, Palais de la Porte Dorée

Carte blanche to 13 artists on the Palais
Like a human being with a singular destiny, the Palais de la Porte Dorée has had a multitude of lives over the course of almost a century. Those who have visited it have tasted its fruits, sometimes tasty, sometimes bitter. The winds of history have changed names and intentions, but generation after generation, artists and their work have been called upon to symbolise the successive identities of this institution, which has often been transformed in line with changes in consciousness.

This is how Jean de Loisy, invited for a carte blanche exhibition, described the Palais de la Porte Dorée. In response to this invitation, he teamed up with curator Raphaël Giannesini to invite 13 international artists from a wide range of backgrounds and generations to take over the Palais’ historic spaces and explore its spirit through in situ creations.

The guest artists will take over this very special place and, together with the people who are most affected by it – those who work there or simply visit it – they will invent works for this singular monument that activate its meaning and memory. Most of the sculptures, drawings, films and installations produced for this exhibition were conceived with the participation of users of the Palais-Musée-Aquarium.

The resulting series of commissions is an original contemporary art trail, punctuated by works that are often monumental and imbued with spirituality.

Artists
Charlie Aubry, Katinka Bock, Seham Boutata, Claude Closky, Teresa Fernandez-Pello, Juliette Green, Mathieu Abonnenc, Aung-Ko, Amalia Laurent, Nge Lay, Kokou Ferdinand Makouvia, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Vivien Zhang.

With the collaboration of users, staff and visitors to the Palais de la Porte Dorée.

Commissariat

Jean de Loisy
Raphaël Giannésini
Christine Piquéras
Cécile Vermorel