One of the finest exhibition halls in the world, the Grand Palais is a work of art itself and worth visiting over and over. I've seen a number of shows here. The highlight for me was Monumenta by Anish Kapoor in 2011. I'm still pissed I didn't see the Ed Hopper exhibit here in 2012 - it wasn't for lack of trying. I went for 3 walk-in attempts only to be met with 4 hour lines in the rain each time.
There are usually several shows happening at the Grand Palais. You can usually purchase a pass for multiple shows or select a single exhibit. Right now and through July 13 there is a show that should not be missed - Robert Mapplethorpe.
In my opinion, this is THE exhibit to see in Paris at the moment - a coup for this hall. It's the largest museum retrospective ever dedicated to Mapplethorpe with over 250 images covering a broad range of his work. Mapplethorpe's stir in the 70s and 80s was much about the shock value of gay culture in New York City at that time. During his life (and since), he and his work received a lot of attention for this, but the perspective we get from both time and a broader look (like this show) provide, perhaps, a more balanced view. Arguably, this gives a better, fuller picture of the man, his vision and his art.
Mapplethorpe covered many topics including flowers, portraits of the day's pop icons, Patti Smith (they lived together for several years), nude models posed like sculptures and of course graphic sexuality and gay culture. His self-portraits in this show are amazing. In 1980 he took back-to-back selfies, in one he's decked out in leather and in the other he's wearing full make-up - portraits of tough and tender I suppose. It's less the novelty of the juxtaposition (its been done many times), and more his own expression captured forever there. One of his better known self-portraits (Bullwhip 1978) shows him with his back to the camera and one foot up on a chair, bent over and a bull whip inserted in his ass - in one sense I wish I could unsee that, but in another sense its one of the more memorable pictures in this show. Mapplethorpe has craned around and is looking over his shoulder straight at the camera - fully in command of what he was doing and why he was doing it.
So on one hand, there is a lot of balance here - the many portraits and flowers (which are probably some of the least seen of Mapplethorpe's images), and a fair number of nudes. In a sense this "balance" may actually skew the scale of his archive. The bulk of his work was concerned with people - their shapes, passions, physicality, and sexuality - with much emphasis on BDSM and sadomasochistic themes. So, it might be a bit misleading to be so balanced as to tip the scales with so much other stuff. Maybe this makes the exhibit a bit more palatable for the general public. Maybe this gives us a better understanding of the range of his talent and vision. Maybe this is what we are supposed to be thinking about when we see Mapplethorpe's work in this context. Go see for yourself if you can. It's amazing.
http://www.grandpalais.fr/en/event/robert-mapplethorpe read more