From 1 February to 3 April 2023, the Boulevard Haussmann will play host to ten monumental sculptures by Michel BASSOMPIERRE.
This exhibition, organised by Galeries Bartoux and the Comité Haussmann, aims to raise awareness of the fragility of the living world by highlighting its beauty. Monumental bears and gorillas stand before thousands of passers-by on the capital's boulevard, emblematic representatives of endangered species. The many threats to these species reveal their extreme fragility. Their habitats, forests and ice floes, are being damaged by the pressures of climate change and human activity. When the populations of these "totemic animals" decline, the survival of the thousands of plant and animal species that make up their ecosystems is already compromised.
Watch a video of the exhibition installation and opening.
Video produced by Gaël ARNAUD.
The inauguration took place in the presence of the exhibition's patrons, primatologist Sabrina Krief and actor and film-maker Jacques Weber, and a host of VIPs: Delphine Bürkli, Mayor of the 9th arrondissement; Maud Lelièvre, Paris Councillor responsible for biodiversity; Nicolas Cour, Paris Councillor responsible for culture; Robert Bartoux, Director of Galeries Bartoux; Alexandre Liot, Chairman of the Comité Haussman and Chief Operating Officer of Galeries Lafayettes; Vincent Senecat, Director of Galeries Lafayettes Paris-Haussmann; and Laurent Bentata, Managing Director of Stage Entertainment (Théâtre Mogador).
On this occasion, "Le Mélèze n°2, Michel BASSOMPIERRE's largest work to date, was unveiled.
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Jacques WEBER, actor and director:
"What I find magnificent about this exhibition is that the sculptures are in the street. People come across the tender gaze, with their asses resting on the street, of an animal that is perhaps going to disappear. Wonder is essential. The moment you marvel at works that seem disproportionate, but are not in terms of the subject matter, it's an active gesture of rebellion.
Read the interviews with Michel BASSOMPIERRE, patrons Sabrina KRIEF and Jacques WEBER,
and the director of Galeries Bartoux, Robert BARTOUX.
Video produced by Gaël ARNAUD.
Sabrina KRIEF, primatologist, professor at the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle:
"The bears and gorillas in this exhibition are coming to town to tell us that we need to act now, not in ten years' time. What we researchers are having trouble getting across is the urgent need to protect these emblematic animals and the hundreds of thousands of species in their ecosystems. Through his works, Michel BASSOMPIERRE expresses the wonder that every child feels in front of these animals. Art and science come together here to allow people to let their emotions take over. I hope that visitors will be able to stop in their mad rush to take the time to admire and caress these sculptures".
An exhibition that continues in the Haussmann district
Three works are on display at the Théâtre Mogador.
Le Passage du Havre is offering a photo retrospective of the exhibition.
Signing session in the metro