Louvre-Lens reopens its galleries with new renovations

Have you heard of or even been to Lens before? This coal town in northern France was active from 1849 to 1986, when the last coal mine was closed. After the Nord-de-Calais mining basin was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012, the French Ministry of Culture drew inspiration from the economic transformation of France’s industrial cities to revitalize the area with a satellite Louvre museum. Bilbao, Spain, has been home to the Guggenheim Satellite since 1997. Thus was born the Palais du Louvre-Lance, housing temporary exhibitions and its iconic gallery (Gallery of Time), a 32,000-square-foot open space reserved for some 200 loans from Big Brother Paris.

After more than a decade of success, museum officials have decided to reconsider the Louvre’s flagship gallery in Lens and welcome new works from the Louvre.

Annabelle Ténèze, director of the Louvre in Lens, told reporters: “The idea is to constantly innovate and the original commitment is to allow the public to move freely and not to prioritize any medium or civilization.” art news. Because the works stand apart—like sculptures that can be approached from different angles—some have likened the Time Gallery to the historic glass easel exhibit at the Museum of Art in São Paulo. Tenez pointed to the Guggenheim Museum in New York, which also values ​​the free movement of people.

Before one enters the building designed by SANAA, one of the new buildings appears, the Obelisk of Saint-Phalle de Niki. The new piece is a nod to the interior re-hanging. “This floral sculpture connects our park (courtesy of landscape architect Catherine Mosbach) to Arcimboldo’s gardens. four seasons (1563-73), recently restored,” Tenez said.

The overlying paint in the Arcimboldo collection appears to be recent and less significant than imagined, giving restorers the opportunity to remove them. Now, not a single flower is lost springhair, and all the Meissen coat of arms winter.

By definition, Time Gallery presentations are arranged chronologically, but re-presentations focus on a variety of themes, including self-expression and living things. During his time, Arcimboldo transformed vegetables and fruits into figurative portraits. Animals and humans meet simultaneously in works from the 4th century B.C. Alley of the Sphinx (Sphinx Lane).

“Also, some of the materials on display here, such as wood, are made from living things. I want visitors to realize that as they walk around,” said Tenez, who added that she wanted a work by Theodore Rousseau Fontainebleau forest edge end public walk. “He was the first environmental painter and dreamed of creating an art reserve in the forest.”

Rousseau’s painting hangs next to a timeless, almost futuristic landscape by Eva Nielsen (b. 1983). This juxtaposition demonstrates the increasing presence of contemporary art in galleries throughout time.

“The gallery does not require contemporary artists to be contemporary; it has written itself into our present. Yet those contemporary artists invite us to look at the past through their own eyes,” says Tenez, who finds it interesting that Some recent pieces could easily be mistaken for older pieces. Jean Clark’s Monument 1 (2024) is a good example. Before you notice the football players at the top, this fountain sculpture looks like it belongs in the 15th century, as does the gryphon-shaped water lizard next to it.

There are some differences between the original display of the Galerie du Temps, designed with the help of Studio Adrien Gardère, and the re-hanging envisioned in collaboration with the agency AtoY, whose project is called “Fleuve du Temps” (Time The river) ), winding appropriately from the 4th century BC to the 19th century. The previous presentation included a group of works that shared a common podium. Each piece now stands or hangs individually for each visitor to fully appreciate. “The galleries seem to be more Greek and Roman, and now more Eastern or Egyptian,” Tenez said.

The Musée du Louvre in Lens aims to establish itself as one of the most inclusive museums in France as a test team evaluates exhibitions in the pipeline. “Our temporary exhibitions are already evaluated by the public before they open, so why not do the same with our permanent collection?” Tenez said of her thinking while working on the new gallery. The size, slant and height of wall text are reviewed based on the ratings of a small number of people. A diverse group of people—200 adults, children, people with disabilities, regulars and newcomers—were assigned to co-write the subtitles.

“At the Louvre in Lens, anything is possible. You never know what you’re going to do there, but you know it’s going to be extraordinary,” said local resident Micheline, who lives near the museum. Whenever needed , she will appear. This time, it’s to help write text using the Easy Read method, a way of presenting text in an easy-to-understand format. Dedicated to Ferdinand Bol, 1658 portrait of mathematician For her, this may be the most challenging. A lot of research went into deciphering the role equations on the blackboard.

Unlike her, another local, Karl, had never set foot in the Palais du Louvre-Lance until a friend told him about the River of Time project. “Now, I see art with new eyes,” he says art news. “I can even talk to Auguste Dumont’s free geniuswhich tells part of my life story. “This 19th-century statue depicts an angel holding a broken chain in one hand, a symbol of freedom. Choreographer Sylvain Groud invited the newcomer and his team to dance around some of the pieces. The steps they came up with and The movements are transcribed into illustrated text, allowing the public to freely try them out in the gallery.

Let’s dance!