The first three editions of MONUMENTA aroused enthusiasm,
attracting an average of 150,000 visitors in five weeks. In 2007,
the German resident in France, Anselm Kiefer, in 2008 to the American Richard
Serra, then to the French Christian Boltanski in 2010, it is to Anish Kapoor,
one of the major artists of his generation, which he was, this time, proposed to
confront the Nave, from May 11 to June 23, 2011.
MONUMENTA marks the return of Anish Kapoor to Paris, thirty years after his
exhibition in the capital. It is considered one of the most
important sculptors of today. His work has profoundly renewed
the extent of the possibilities of contemporary sculpture through its mastery
of the monumental scale that by the colorful sensuality and the apparent
the simplicity of his works. These contribute to the
fascination they exert on all audiences, as shown by
example, the popular success of the Chicago Cloud Gate.
Born in 1954 in Bombay, he has been living in London since the beginning of the years
1970. His work quickly gained international consideration
celebrated by many awards including the famous Turner Prize he won in
1991. His approach has since been the subject of numerous exhibitions
in the world’s most prestigious museums, including the
Guggenheim, the Louvre, the Royal Academy, the Tate Modern, etc. He was
recently commissioned to design the signal marking the upcoming Games
Olympics in London, a 116-meter-high sculpture entitled "Orbit".
The work he is preparing for MONUMENTA is described by the artist as follows:
one object, one shape, one color.” He adds, “My ambition
is to create a space in space that responds to height and light
of the Nave of the Grand Palais. Visitors will be invited to enter the work,
to immerse themselves in color and it will be, I hope, an experience
contemplative and poetic». Designed with the most
bold, the work will not address itself to the only look but will invite the
visitor to make a global sensory and mental discovery. Technical challenge
and poetic unparalleled in the history of sculpture, this work
challenges what we believe we know about art, our body and
our most intimate experience, of our origins. Spectacular and profound, it
responds to what the artist considers to be the stake of his work: To reach by
strictly physical means to offer an emotional experience
and unpublished philosophy.”
The Force of Evidence of Anish Kapoor’s Work Provides Fertile Ground
the democratization of access to contemporary art. For
the Ministry of Culture and
editions, a device designed to accommodate the most diverse audiences. For
meet all expectations and so that everyone can, beyond the
Prior, familiarize themselves with contemporary art, visitors can dispose –
assistance from specialized mediators, including the
knowledge and pedagogical talents multiply the possibilities
access and understanding of the work.
In collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, schools
benefit from a specific, multidisciplinary and playful programming, of
kindergarten in high school, including dance practice workshops,
in partnership with the Théâtre national de Chaillot. Activities
use of the Internet, make it possible to
the artist’s work on the students' programmes. Thematic visits,
all generations together, they also forge a link with creation
by Anish Kapoor. MONUMENTA also offers visits to
for disabled people, to facilitate their access to heritage
today. Finally, throughout the exhibition, a program
of events proposes to make dialogue speech, music and dance
with the work of Anish Kapoor and the creations it houses, in order to
discover new aspects.
Jean de Loisy is commissioner of MONUMENTA 2011. Commissioner
independent exhibition, he was, among other things, inspector at the creation
Ministry of Culture and
Cartier Foundation and curator at the Centre Georges Pompidou. He directed
and co-directed various art venues in France. He organized many
monographic exhibitions and major exhibitions such as
Beauty» in Avignon in 2000 or «Traces du sacré» in 2008 at
Centre Pompidou. He has been working for thirty years with Anish
Kapoor, where he has organized numerous exhibitions including the
Retrospective of the artist in 2009 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
The entrance fee to MONUMENTA is 5 euros, with a reduced rate of 2.5
Cultural programming (accessible with the entrance ticket)
offers concerts, shows, readings and meetings related to
the work of Anish Kapoor. A well-documented, bilingual website
prepare and deepen the visit.
An album, co-edited by the CNAP and the editions of the Rmn-GP, Paris 2011, and
a monograph, co-published by Flammarion and the CNAP, widely illustrated
are published on this occasion.
Organized by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the exhibition
is co-produced by the Centre national des arts plastiques (CNAP) and
the Public Institution of the Reunion of National Museums and the Grand
Palais des Champs-Élysées (Rmn-GP).