Name one of Gustav Klimt’s works and it’s sure to be The Kiss. Painted in the height of the Austrian artist’s golden period it’s one of his most memorable and reproduced. It’s an image of a couple kneeling in a patch of wildflowers, embracing. In a geometrically printed robe, the man wears a crown of vines on his head and cradles the woman’s face as if to lean in and kiss her. She too wears flowers in her hair and a contrasting gown. If you’ve not seen the original, it’s hanging in the Belvedere Palace in Vienna, if ever you need an excuse to visit.
This, along with three thousand other pieces of art were projected on the walls of a warehouse in Paris. A new exhibition space Atelier Des Lumieres (or “Studio of Lights) showed many of his paintings in a whole new way, by projecting them on 35,000 square feet, set to music.
The first four sequences took visitors through different periods of Klimt’s life and work. Works by Egon Schiele and other Austrian artists flooded the concrete walls. Visitors stood or sat in awe of the paintings which took over the floor and ceiling space. Flowers, women and nudes. No subject was out of bounds.
Excitingly, the next artist to undergo The Careers of Lights is Vincent Van Gogh in February. Tickets and more details available here.
Atelier des Lumieres, 38, Rue St Mauer, Paris, 11th
Did you read my article on how to solve Valentine’s Day present issues?
