SUB-IPP

Anne Imhof’s exhibition Natures Mortes, the fifth iteration of the “Carte Blanche” series at the Palais de Tokyo, occupied the majority of the 20,000 square meter building, which was originally constructed for the 1937 Exposition Internationale. The exhibition comprised both the artists’ own works alongside a selection of works from more than thirty other artists, such as Eugène Delacroix, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, and Cady Noland. Together, the works represented a diversity of media, from painting to performance and sound pieces. The exhibition design began with the removal of all non-permanent partitions, reverting the interior to its stripped-down state immediately after a 2001 renovation by Lacaton & Vassal. 250 insulated glass units (IGUs), many covered in graffiti, were extracted from the façade of a Turin bank prior to its demolishment and shipped to Paris. Mounted on steel and concrete bases, the IGUs served as scenographic infrastructure, delineating pathways for visitors. Additional elements, either taken or inspired by civic infrastructure, were also introduced to further define the scenography. The movement of visitors followed a trajectory from the bright ground floor space into a cavernous basement, with the exhibition design serving to structure a sequence that recalled a ritualistic descent underground.