The French gallerist with exhibition spaces all over the world has organized a treasure hunt in the Grand Palais: 20 works of art will be hidden in the nave of the Grand Palais in Paris. Those who manage to find the hidden works will be able to take them home.
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Seekers will find and eventually will take home a work of art. This is the only rule of the game taking place inside the Grand Palais, the historic exhibition pavilion in the heart of Paris, home of the FIAC fair, on 24th and 25th October 2020. Throughout the course of 48 hours, visitors are invited to search for 20 works by 20 of Perrotin's artists who are concealed in the empty nave of the Grand Palais. The presentation intentionally echoes an exhibition deconstructed in both space and time: A sort of "not on show" exhibition, set up in an unconventional way.
WANTED! recalls a project by Elmgreen & Dragset organized by Perrotin in September of 2016. The artist duo staged an art fair booth in the empty nave a month before the opening of the FIAC, dialoguing with the immensity of the Grand Palais and transforming the booth into a sculptural object.
"It is an unusual expedient, but uncertain times call for unorthodox ideas", Emmanuel Perrotin explained.
Chiho Aoshima, Iván Argote, Daniel Arsham, Genesis Belanger, Johan Creten, Elmgreen & Dragset, Bernard Frize, Laurent Grasso, Thilo Heinzmann, Gregor Hildebrandt, JR, Bharti Kher, Klara Kristalova, Takashi Murakami, Jean-Michel Othoniel, GaHee Park, Paola Pivi, Emily Mae Smith, Aya Takano and Xavier Veilhan are the artists whose works will be scattered in the empty nave of the Grand Palais. They will be waiting to be found by visitors who, in order to participate in the treasure hunt, will only have to book their tickets, wear their mask and respect the Covid-physical distance.
"I am delighted that our artists have agreed to participate in this unprecedented project. The works of art are now more precious than ever, which is why it is important to propose them to as many people as possible. I would like to thank the gallery team who have put all its energy into this adventure, even though they are actively working on many other exhibitions".
"These experiments are part of avant-garde art history and it is truly amazing how some of the participating artists have inventively hidden their work within the Grand Palais," comments Chris Dercon, president of RMN-Grand Palais. "At WANTED! the value of the work depends on the commitment of the visitors. In fact, true love of art is often a matter of luck: you often find what you weren't really looking for. And it is also true that in many public and private collections works of art are hidden".
Each hunting session lasts 50 minutes, and each time slot should not exceed 500 visitors.
Read more here.
Cover image: Wanted! by Perrotin Gallery at Grand Palais Paris.
Written by Giulia Cami
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