The body has always fascinated, challenged and questioned. With the exhibition ” Corps et âmes “, the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection invites us to explore this universal theme through the eyes of forty contemporary artists from around the world. Painting, sculpture, photography, video: mediums intersect and dialogue to tell the intimate and collective stories of a humanity in search of meaning, identity and memory. Focus on this exhibition, on view until August 25, 2025.
Article produced in collaboration with Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection
A striking entrance
As soon as we enter, the diptych by Ghanaian painter Gideon Appah greets us, blending European influences and memories of post-independence Ghana with dreamlike, almost fantastical images where the colors of Matisse resurface in a contemporary work.
But we soon find ourselves drawn in by Arthur Jafa‘s installation in the Rotonde de la Bourse de Commerce. ” Love is the Message, the Message is Death ” is a powerful work, a hypnotic montage of archival scenes that tells the story of African-Americans in the 20th century. Emblematic figures (Angela Davis, Martin Luther King, Barack Obama) and anonymous figures intersect in this powerful work that resonates throughout the building.
Ordinary bodies, extraordinary presences
The tour is punctuated by many moments of reflection. The hyper-realistic sculptures of Duane Hanson, like his ” Housepainter “, hold up an acerbic mirror to invisible America, that of ordinary workers often ignored. The photographs of Deana Lawson, on the other hand, are striking for their intimate and political power: in domestic settings, black bodies, often naked, impose their presence with dignity and pride.
Memory and fiction: when history meets art
Other works, more subtle but just as striking, punctuate the exhibition. In the Passage showcases, Ali Cherri hybridizes archaeology and fiction to question the memory of objects and bodies shattered by history. On the first floor, cartoons by William Kentridge and Robin Rhode explore the post-apartheid legacy, while fictional portraits by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (gallery 7) reinvent Western painting by inscribing black figures outside time and space.
The female body: between claim and reappropriation
It’s also impossible not to be moved by works that question the representation of the female body. From ” Nana noire “ by Niki de Saint Phalle, a joyous and defiant celebration of femininity, to the tormented paintings of Marlene Dumas, each artist gives back to women’s bodies a voice, an irreducible presence. One of the most poignant pieces remains ” Beauty Examined “ by Kerry James Marshall, who revisits Rembrandt’s ” The Anatomy Lesson ” to denounce what happened to Saartjie Baartman (1789-1815), who was enslaved and whose body was exhibited in Europe.
Georg Baselitz in masterful finale
As a finale, Georg Baselitz impresses with his monumental work ” Avignon “, where eight self-portraits in the form of inverted bodies seem to dance in a striking pictorial huis clos. This final choreography, both dramatic and spiritual, perfectly embodies the essence of the exhibition: a dialogue between flesh and soul, visible and invisible, memory and becoming.
A sensory and engaging experience
Visiting the exhibition ” Corps et âmes “ is an emotionally-charged experience that takes us on a journey through the struggles, hopes and metamorphoses of the human body. Each work invites us to look differently and question our own relationship with the world.
Practical information
Address:
2 rue de Viarmes
75001 Paris (France)
Hours:
Until August 25, 2025
Monday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm
Nocturne Fridays until 9pm
Closed Tuesdays and May 1st.
Find out more:
https://www.pinaultcollection.com/
Prices:
Full price: €15
Reduced price: €10
Article produced in collaboration with Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection
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