From September 10 to 15, Paris’ historic Saint-Germain-des-Prés district was decked out in its finest finery to welcome Parcours des Mondes, one of the biggest international events for the arts of Africa, Oceania, the Americas, Asia and archaeology. For its 2024 edition, spectacular to a fault, the event offers a total immersion in the arts of Africa, Oceania, Asia, the Americas and archaeology. For the occasion, visitors strolled through the emblematic alleyways – rue Mazarine, rue de Seine, rue Jacob – where some sixty prestigious galleries presented fascinating works. Sculptures, ritual masks and cultural treasures were unveiled in an intimate, hushed atmosphere conducive to discovery. For a few days, Saint-Germain-des-Prés became a veritable cultural crossroads where ancestral tradition and modernity meet… Discover!
High points, between surrealism and primitive arts
This year’s artistic itinerary offers us some nuggets worth the detour (don’t panic, we’ll come back to them in more detail later!), and among them is “Zones de contact: Surrealism, Africa, Oceania, America”, an ambitious exhibition curated by Charles-Wesley Hourdé and Nicolas Rolland. In collaboration with the Centre Pompidou, the Association André Breton and the Comité des Galeries d’Art, the presentation explores the fascinating correspondences between Surrealism and the primitive arts. The exhibition offers a new reading of works often little known to the general public, reinterpreting the links between Western aesthetics and cultural traditions from afar. This year the honorary presidency is held by Mr Ladreit de Lacharrière, a primitive arts enthusiast who honored us with his visit and good humor.
Another highlight: an immersion into the world of the ethnie Kaka, highlighted by Bruno Claessens. The never-before-seen works of these anonymous Cameroonian artists reveal all the depth and authenticity of a culture often ignored, but of striking richness. Each sculpture, each object invites us on an introspective journey to the heart of African traditions. Galerie Christophe Person is also making its mark with a retrospective devoted to Amahiguéré Dolo, a Malian artist whose work oscillates between animism and surrealism. His wood carvings, unpublished drawings and paintings on canvas illustrate a vibrant dialogue between the visible and the invisible, bearing witness to an uncommon creative power. A mystical universe where each work seems inhabited by a rare evocative force!
On the contemporary side, Galerie Vallois presents two outstanding exhibitions: Black and White – Traits cubains and Legado, two bold projects that echo ancestral practices, while reinterpreting them with a contemporary eye. They question cultural heritages and rituals in an approach that blurs the boundaries between modernity and tradition, past and present. What’s more, Parcours des Mondes isn’t just an artistic stroll, it’s also a unique chance to talk with experts, curators and passionate collectors. These encounters enrich the way we look at artworks and help us better understand the issues surrounding these fascinating arts. For culture buffs, the event culminated in the presentation of the Prix Pierre Moos, in partnership with Christie’s, a prize for the best book on the arts of Africa, Oceania and America published between 2023 and 2024.
Themed exhibitions: art at the heart of the Parcours des Mondes 2024
Every year, Parcours des Mondes sets the bar high by offering exceptional themed exhibitions, the fruit of rigorous research conducted over several months, or even years. For its 2024 vintage, several flagship exhibitions are catching the eye. Let’s discover them without further ado!
Galerie Ondine and Patrick Mestdagh: 23 pieces for 23 years
After an absence of ten years, Patrick and Ondine Mestdagh return to Parcours des Mondes for this 23rd edition. The gallery celebrates this double occasion by exhibiting 23 carefully selected works, each representing one of the five continents, a project that embodies the constant quest for excellence that characterizes the Mestdaghs’ work. Sculptures, ritual objects and cultural treasures mingle in a scenography that promises a true immersion in art from around the world.
Galerie Afrique – Frantz and Alain Dufour: 50 years of passion for tribal art
This year, Galerie Afrique celebrates half a century in business with an ambitious retrospective retracing the milestones of its career. Known for its presence on prestigious stages such as PAD and the Musée Dapper, this time the gallery offers a focus on the most emblematic African artistic traditions. A double “Obu Nkwa” statue evokes the ancestral Ibo art of Nigeria, while a majestic Igala sculpture from Anjenu, with its textured black patina, reflects the essence of the Bénoué valley.
The retrospective, hosted at the Galerie de Causans at 25 rue de Seine, also gives pride of place to Yoruba art. The exceptional horseman from the collection Garcia, immortalized in the famous book “Les chefs-d’œuvre africains dans les collections privées françaises”, was among the exhibits. Fans also had the opportunity to admire the Statue Aguéré Ifa, exhibited when the gallery opened in 1974. In addition to Nigeria, the exhibition extends to other major regions such as Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania and Burkina Faso, for a complete panorama of African tribal art.
Bakongo – Abla & Alain Lecomte: a vibrant tribute
For this 23rd edition of Parcours des Mondes, Abla and Alain Lecomte unveil an exhibition entitled “Bakong”, a fascinating plunge into the universe of these peoples of Central Africa, whose deeply spiritual art has marked their careers as gallery owners. “The passion we’ve had for years for these peoples and their art has never waned,” they confide. But what is striking here is the dealer’s paradox: after years of painstakingly collecting these pieces, comes the heartbreaking moment of parting with them. Each sculpture, mask or ritual object exhibited through “Bakongo” carries with it a part of this passionate adventure.
“En Forêt” – Galerie Granier | Ancient: between magic and mystery
The exhibition “En Forêt”, presented by Galerie Granier | Ancient, explores the sacred art of tropical forests, where abstraction and expression intersect in a staging that flirts with the dreamlike and mystical. This ancient art, with its sacred symbols and enigmatic forms, questions human origins and invites us to return to our roots. In a world where everything seems formatted, “En Forêt” opens a window onto another imaginary world, that of dreams and re-enchantment.
Legado – Galerie Vallois 41: a dialogue between tradition and modernity
With “Legado”, Galerie Vallois 41 proposes an encounter between Lega art and the contemporary work of Cuban artist Mikimando. Showcasing ritual objects from Robert Vallois’ personal collection, accompanied by graphic works by Mikimando, the exhibition draws a bridge between Africa and Afro-descendence. This dialogue sheds light on the relationship between ancestral practices and contemporary creation, and reveals the strength of a heritage handed down through time.
Mikimando, real name Armando Sánchez, was born in 1988 in Havana. A multidisciplinary artist, he draws his inspiration from the Santería, an Afro-Cuban religion that he brilliantly integrates into his works. His work blends street art, tattooing, digital animation and photography, blurring the boundaries between modernity and tradition. “The fusion between the symbolic elements of Santería and Cuban urban culture is at the heart of my work,” explains the artist.
Mystical Pacific Cultures – A dialogue between ancestral traditions
For this 2024 edition of Parcours des Mondes, Galerie Gauchet Art Asiatique is creating a sensation with “Mystiques Cultures du Pacifique”, an exhibition that brings together Asian works and Australian Aboriginal art. On this occasion, art becomes a bridge between universes as distant as they are bewitching. Visitors are invited to navigate between ritual totems, spiritual masks and cult objects, in a setting where each piece seems to resonate with the others, despite their distinct origins.
Onirismes – Lucas Ratton : Jean Messagier, tribal art as obsession
Through “Onirismes”, Galerie Lucas Ratton explores the world of painter Jean Messagier, an artist for whom tribal art was not an inspiration but a revelation. “The artist does not choose a primitive object, he receives it”, he used to say, illustrating his fascination with African, Oceanic and Amazonian art. This passion, which has permeated his work since the 1940s, is expressed in toiles with evocative titles, such as “Afrique Météorologique” or “Les porteurs d’Afrique”.
The exhibition also looks back at a key moment in his career: his meeting with André Breton in 1953 at the Etoile Scellée gallery. An admirer of Picasso‘s work and his closeness to African art, Jean Messagier constructed a dreamlike universe populated by fantastic animals – pikes, pheasants, kingfishers – and forms inspired by tribal sculptures. In “Onirismes”, this fusion takes on its full meaning with a rare selection of works little known to the general public, set against carefully chosen pieces of tribal art. Between raw forms and surrealist paintings, the exhibition blurs boundaries and offers a powerful visual experience, where the ancient dialogues with the modern.
Surrealism: Zones of Contact – When art becomes friction and dialogue
With the exhibition “Surrealism: Zones of Contact”, H+R ART CONSULT strikes hard by diving into the tumultuous interactions between Surrealism and the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. No banal discourse on the surrealists’ alleged “discovery” of primitive art. Here, we get to the heart of the matter: intense exchanges, sometimes friction, between these worlds. We discover that it’s not just a question of aesthetic influences. It’s a veritable meeting of worlds, where each culture contributes its stone to the edifice, but without naiveté.
The curators, Yaëlle Biro and Nicolas Rolland, choose an approach that challenges convention. The exhibition shows the extent to which the dream, the unconscious and the intangible are central to the traditional arts of Africa and the Americas, just as they are to Surrealism. These themes, explored as early as André Breton’s Manifesto of 1924, resonate here powerfully, like a distant but pertinent echo. The exhibition also sheds light on how the Surrealists appropriated these arts. Whether we’re talking about the exhibitions in which these works featured prominently, the magazines in which they were published or the private collections accumulated by Breton and his acolytes, everything is shown from a critical angle. This is a far cry from the idea of disinterested admiration: these exchanges were also marked by the colonial context of the time, a factor that the exhibition does not seek to minimize.
The exhibition was held at the Charles-Wesley Hourdé gallery from September 3 to 21, 2024, in partnership with the Centre Pompidou and the Association André Breton. It was a unique opportunity to delve into a moment in art history when Surrealist aesthetics attempted to feed on otherness, while sometimes leaving a bitter taste of incompleteness. “L’inspiration que nous avons pu tirer de leur art est restée en définitive sans effet, faute d’un contact organique élémentaire”, declared André Breton in 1955. It is precisely this absence of deep connection that the exhibition intends to correct, by putting the arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas back at the center of the narrative, rather than on the margins.
Voyages Immobiles – François Avril brings tribal art to life in his own way
For Parcours des Mondes 2024, gallery Huberty & Breyne is banking on the imagination of François Avril with “Voyages Immobiles”, an exhibition that turns codes on their head. The artist is freely inspired by objects from Africa, Oceania, the Americas and archaeological treasures, but without ever falling into mimicry. There’s no question of faithfully reproducing ancient works: François Avril prefers to re-invent these influences through his unique graphic prism. His style, pure yet evocative, captures the essence of these cultures while taking us on an introspective journey where we paradoxically remain motionless.
With her minimalist treatment and flat tints of color, the artist captures the spirit of tribal objects, without ever lapsing into gratuitous exoticism. Her approach echoes a veritable mental travel diary, where art becomes a bridge between here and elsewhere, between tradition and modernity. The evocative power of his works takes us on a journey without moving. Le Parcours des Mondes had the flair to offer him this carte blanche, and the result does not disappoint!
Sources :
https://www.parcours-des-mondes.com/
https://www.parcours-des-mondes.com/categorie/expositions-thematiques.html
https://www.parcours-des-mondes.com/page/catalogue2024.html?aPreview=33cf57e7d7bac4458a2354e17065e4971522c55d