Current exhibitions at the Grand Palais - review

Monumenta 2014

These are my picks for the current exhibitions at the Grand Palais. There are others, and more coming soon, so you can check the official website for more options. And you can check out my post on the Grand Palais for for general info on the site.

1.  Monumenta 2014 - this is an exhibition that is held every year where a different artist is invited to do their thing in the vast main hall of the Grand Palais. This year it's a Russian duo - Ilya & Emilia Kabakov: The Strange City.

The artists have attempted to transform the Grand Palais into a fantasy world, like something out of a comic book. As you move through each room, you learn something new about the fantasy world, and slowly immerse yourself into the "strange city". The layout is like a labyrinth, which lends itself to disorientating the viewer, and is very effective at pushing the viewer to become even further immersed in the fantasy world.

Certainly worth a visit, and aside from the exhibition itself, it's a perfect opportunity to see inside the Grand Palais main hall.

••  Runs 10 May - 22 Jun

Bill Viola

2.  Bill Viola - This is a video installation by someone described by the website as one of the worlds most recognised video artists. The exhibition showcases a retrospective collection of his works going back around 35 years, and as you would expect...lots of video installations. Video art always tests my patience, as it's often delivered very slowly, but Viola still manages to keep most of his works engaging. And some really are spectacular and clever. And if you're new to video art then this exhibition is the perfect introduction.

Note that the exhibition is in one of the side rooms of the Grand Palais (not the main hall).

••  Runs 5 Mar - 21 Jul

[Image courtesy Réunion des musées nationaux - Grand Palais / Bill Viola / photo Kira Perov]