24hrs and 2 exhibitions in Paris

I decided to go to the big Mark Rothko retrospective at Fondation Louis Vuitton.  An early train to London, then caught the Eurostar with my Mum.  It was relaxed and easy.  After sussing out buying tickets for the Metro, we found our way to The Maat Gallery to see Geoffroy Pithon’s first solo exhibition in Paris.  I followed him about a year ago on Instagram and just happened to see a post advertising the show, which started the day before we went to Paris.  It didn’t disappoint!  He creates very textural mixed media paintings on paper that explode with life and colour. It looked like things had been cut out and added in, there were wonky edges, paper that was bonded onto canvas, the edges painted with that same energy.  I was really buzzing when I came out of here.  I think because it was so individual, so unique to him.  There were no typed labels, he’d handwritten titles in pencil on the wall, he’d made his own backdrops by painting huge strips of paper.  I love the idea of doing things your own way, however you want.

On the Saturday we walked to the Rothko exhibition.  There are 115 paintings that span his whole career, it’s so interesting to see how he became the painter we know.  I really got involved when he became more abstract, using large areas of colour.  I loved seeing the brush marks, drips evidence of the man painting, the edges where you can see the base colours peeping through.

It definitely wasn’t just about the joy of colour for him.  “All of his work, whatever the colours used, expressed the drama and tragedy of existence …… highlights the meditative, nature of his work.”  These are are paintings I could get lost in.  I was struck by the confidence of having these new ideas and then painting them at such a huge scale!

It was only 24hours, but it was so worth it.  Delicious food, a lovely hotel, wandering the streets of Paris on a Spring day and precious time spent with my Mum.  If you can, take the trip!