Autumn at the Palais
“Hello, my name is Lili and we are many” // Lili Reynaud Dewar
Lili Reynaud-Dewar, a versatile artist who effortlessly moves between filmmaking, writing, speaking, dancing, and teaching, undertakes an exploration of the artist's intricate role at the Palais de Tokyo. Divided into two parts, the first section welcomes the public to witness the 19 episodes of Gruppo Petrolio—a collective production inspired by Pier Paolo Pasolini's Pétrole. The second part transforms the exhibition into a personal diary, documenting the artist's experiences both within and beyond the Palais de Tokyo.
It unveils new bodies of work, offering insights into the artist's reactions to diverse environments—from hotel rooms in Paris to the intricate web of emotional and professional relationships and the broader canvas of national and international news. This introspective journey chronicles the transformative period from initial intuitions to the exhibition's final manifestation, providing a nuanced glimpse into Reynaud-Dewar's creative evolution.
“Doppelgänger!” // Jakob Lena Knebl & Ashley Hans Scheirl
Jakob Lena Knebl and Ashley Hans Scheirl craft an immersive exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo, transforming the space into islands of light that beckon exploration into "spaces of desire." Carpets and mirrors create a scenography where visitors become integral to the show. Drawing on art, design, literature, and socio-cultural phenomena, the duo infuses humor and the grotesque, blending references from Mary Shelley to contemporary cyber aesthetics. The installations challenge norms, generating tensions and affects that impart an uncanny quality to familiar sources of inspiration.
Through a playful interplay with the prefix "trans," the artists deconstruct identity across mediums and contexts, spanning historical art and design movements. Following their participation in the 15th Lyon Biennale, the exhibition traverses the aesthetics of the '70s, exploring queer identities and utopias in consumer society. This polymorphous project, previously showcased at the 59th Venice Biennale, offers an entertaining and sensual journey, inviting visitors into the artists' captivating world. The exhibition is slated to travel to the Deichtorhallen Hamburg/Falckenberg Collection in spring 2024.
“Ceinture Nwar” // Rakajoo
Since 2008, the Association des Amis du Palais de Tokyo has been supporting emerging French artists through its Prix des Amis, with the 2021-2022 edition culminating in the selection of Rakajoo. Defined by duality and pluralism within the Afropean context, Rakajoo's work tells a collective story, embracing both African and European influences seamlessly. Engaging in expanded painting, he navigates borders and contrasts light with darkness, employing diverse mediums such as acrylic, ink, oil paint, and pixels.
His art delves into the visible and invisible connections binding individuals to their environments, exploring the shaping of imagination, consciousness, and reflexes in specific spaces that evolve with shifting identities and gentrification. Rakajoo's painting serves as a thought-provoking exploration of the porous contours of national identity, embracing complexity, contradictions, and the ability to ground and center within the ever-evolving context.
