In 2006 the Hors les Murs program launched as an institutional partner of FIAC, including outdoor sculptures, architectural projects, performances, and sound works—all within the settings of the Jardin des Tuileries, the Musée national Eugéne Delacroix, and the Place Vendôme. To learn more about this year’s programming, we spoke with the Musée du Louvre’s director of cultural programming and curator, Vincent Pomarède.
WHITEWALLER: This year, you’re overseeing the selection committee for the Jardin des Tuileries for FIAC’s Hors les Murs program. Can you tell us about your role and what to expect in terms of programming this year?
Vincent Pomarède
VINCENT POMARÈDE: I am honored to have Bernard Blistène, director of the Musée National de l’art moderne, Centre Pompidou, and Jean de Loisy, director of the Palais de Tokyo, among other specialists that form this committee and give an artistic coherence to the parcours of the FIAC Hors les Murs.
We are the biggest museum on earth by the number of visitors, collection, employees, and its size, which is also thanks to the garden of the Tuileries that is part of the museum. It is a beautiful classical French garden (Le Nôtre) functioning like an open-air museum, hosting classical, modern, and contemporary art together. This dialogue is a strong tradition that functions very well, and we like to underscore that especially during the FIAC art week. I have to take into consideration that the FIAC Hors les Murs works interchanging with the existing permanent sculptures, the garden, and the palace to create surprises, reflections, conversations, and exchanges.
WW: Of the work that will be on view in the Jardin des Tuileries space, what are some highlights?
Maison Démontable 6×6, 1944 de Jean Prouvé.
Courtesy of Galerie Patrick Seguin.
VP: We traditionally show both emerging and confirmed artists, represented by galleries from all over the world. This year we have more than thirty pieces, including sculptures, installations, design, and architecture. For the last three years we are developing the architecture parcours, which works particularly well in the stunning surroundings of the Palace, the Paris of Haussmann, and the rigorous French garden.
WW: What kind of programming does the Jardin des Tuileries host throughout the year?
Grand Palais during FIAC.
Photo by Marc Domage.
Courtesy of FIAC.
VP: The setting is simply exceptional, as it is one of the most beautiful gardens in the very center of Paris. The Tuileries Garden is the link between the Louvre Palace and the town of Paris as the Champs-Élysées is the prolongation of it. Long perspective lines allow the opening toward the Grand Palais hosting FIAC. Beside the FIAC Hors les Murs, the Tuileries Garden hosts all kind of different events all over the year, from festivals to défilés. In parallel, the Musée du Louvre itself organizes different events in the garden, which are linked with our programming in the galleries of the collection.
WW: What else are you looking forward to at this year’s FIAC?
VP: I am looking forward to seeing the solo show of the German artist Katinka Bock at the Musée national Eugène Delacroix (that takes part of the Louvre). For the last three years, the beautiful and intimate Delacroix museum at the Place de Furstenberg is participating in the FIAC Hors les Murs by inviting one single artist to intervene in the museum, the original atelier of the Romantic painter, and the picturesque little garden. The Musée Delacroix is a harbor of peace in the very center of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
