The Spring Art season is full of blockbuster shows including:
Andy Warhol: From March 18 to July 13 at the Grand Palais. (www.rmn.fr). A huge retrospective with art, magazines and films that cover his Factory days and his influence on art today.
Arcimboldo to Dali – Les Images Doubles: Also at the Grand Palais April 6 to July 6 (www.rmn.fr). False perspectives, and visual games unite 250 works, including drawings by M.C. Escher.
Calder: The Paris Years (1926-1933): From March 18-July 20, at the Centre Pompidou. Alexander Calder was 27 when he arrived in Paris an unknown illustrator. During the seven years he lived here he would begin his famous Circus and mobiles, defining himself as one of the most original voices of 20th-century art. The exhibition includes drawings and mobiles as well as photos and film.
Suzanne Valadon – Maurice Utrillo: From Impressionnism to the Paris School. From March 6 to September 15 at the Pinacothèque de Paris. (28 place de la Madeleine, 75008). This in-depth exhibition concentrates on one of Paris most famous painting families. There will be over 100 paintings from both the mother (Valadon) and her son (Utrillo), including his “white period” around 1914, and many scenes of Montmartre.
The Jazz Century: From March 17–June 28 at the Musée du Quai Branly (www.quaibranly.fr). A dynamic exhibition that explores the relationship between Jazz and the arts - including literature, film and music. It promises to be a comprehensive look at the phenomenon of the “Jazz effect” on the visual arts with over 700 objects, including 70 paintings by artists including Matisse, Picasso, Man Ray, Bob Thompson, Alexander Calder, Francis Picabia, Piet Mondrian, Jean Dubuffet, Jeff Wall and Dan Flavin. A musical soundtrack guides visitors through the exhibition.
Following the trend for “ephemeral” boutiques, Cacharel opens a temporary shop (3, rue d’Uzès, 75002; Metro Rue Montmartre or Bourse) dedicated to their famous Liberty print clothes. The shop will be open for about four months, until the new generation Cacharel store opens on the same site. The brand is currently working on revamping it’s image, but in the mean time, the Liberty print shirts for Men and Women, plus sundresses, shorts and head scarves are a must-have for spring.
On Monday the 2009 Michelin Red Guide to France came out and with it the annual scramble to see who gained, or lost those coveted stars.
The big winner is chef Eric Fréchon of the Bristol Hotel (112 rue de Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008) who enters the elite crowd of three-star chefs. And, even if you don’t want to splurge on Fréchon’s 3-star cuisine, the Bristol is opening a more casual restaurant in September with direct access from the sidewalk. As the hotel’s executive chef, Mr. Fréchon is responsible for the bistro cuisine as well - so worth a try. www.lebristolparis.com
Sometimes you have to travel in Paris to get what you want, but once you arrive the trip is usually worth it. Last week, for instance I walked over to the very convenient Bouchara, the large fabric store next to Galeries Lafayette to pick up some thread. It was gone. Boarded up with huge panels announcing the arrival of yet another H&M clothing store.
This meant that for my next home fabric buying spree, I’d need to head to the Marché Saint Pierre, taking yet another Metro line to Anvers in the 18th arrondissement, and fighting through the throng of tourists heading up to Sacré Coeur. But it was a beautiful day in Paris today, and I decide it was time to get active.
The Marché Saint Pierre is actually a grouping of fabric stores, some four stories high, tucked just below Montmartre. On the Square Saint Pierre you’ll see one of Paris’ remaining carrousels – the same one seen in Amèlie Poulain – and the original iron and brick market building. This is now an arts center. And to the east along Rue’s Livingston and Orsel the many fabric stores from the huge and professional Reine, to the cheaper Dreyfus (much like a fabric bazaar) and Moline with its trim and buttons store. Other fabric stores line the surrounding streets and there’s a convivial atmosphere of friends shopping, fashion students and costume designers. This is where you go to find French Toile de Jouy (and even top names like Pierre Frey at Reine) and elegant, embroidered “Giverny” patterns at Moline. Certainly there are small local shops in other neighborhoods that sell threads and yarns, but in Paris, this is where everyone comes for fabric. Plus, it’s hard to resist glancing up at Sacré Coeur.
The hotel Meurice has begun monthly wine tastings with their Chef Sommelier Nicolas Rebut, baptized “Les Nocturnes du 228.” For 90 euros a person you get a lively lesson in wine, with a different region featured in each two-hour session. The setting is the beautiful 228 bar, recently relooked by Philippe Starck, and the cocktail hour tasting includes canapés from Michelin three-star chef Yannick Alléno. All in all not such a bad deal by Paris standards. The next date is April 2 for white wines of Alsace, then May 7 for wines of the Loire Valley. Burgundy is September 3.
See www.lemeurice.com. Or call 33/1 44 58 10 66 for reservations.
