Alicja Kwade's Art Basel Paris Sculpture Dismantled Early Over Vandalism Fears
The Paris gallery Mennour has announced that Alicja Kwade's sculpture, L'Élévation des Mondes, will be taken down from Avenue Winston Churchill on Friday, rather than the originally planned Sunday. Kwade expressed concerns about potential riots and vandalism, raising issues about the safety of artworks during the current unrest in France, which began with student protests. On Saturday, over 500,000 individuals participated in marches, some of which escalated into violence, resulting in arrests and curfews. Standing over four meters tall and crafted from rainbow sandstone, black marble, and Carrara marble, L'Élévation des Mondes explores themes of colonization and world order. Born in Poland in 1979, Kwade currently resides in Berlin and has exhibited her work globally.
Key facts
- Alicja Kwade's L'Élévation des Mondes, installed on Avenue Winston Churchill in front of the Grand Palais, will be removed Friday instead of Sunday
- Paris gallery Mennour, Kwade's representative, confirmed the early dismantling to ARTnews
- Kwade cited the risk of riots and vandalism in an Instagram post announcing the removal
- The sculpture is over four meters tall and uses rainbow sandstone, black marble and Carrara marble
- More than 500,000 people took part in Saturday marches, per the French Interior Ministry as cited by ARTnews
- Kwade was born in Poland in 1979 and lives in Berlin
- Her work is in collections including the Centre Pompidou, LACMA and the Yuz Museum
- Works by Simone Fattal, Carmen Herrera, Marcello Maloberti, Keita Miyazaki, Manfred Pernice, Niki de Saint Phalle and Yinka Shonibare are installed in the same area
Entities
Artists
- Alicja Kwade
- Simone Fattal
- Carmen Herrera
- Marcello Maloberti
- Keita Miyazaki
- Manfred Pernice
- Niki de Saint Phalle
- Yinka Shonibare
Institutions
- Art Basel Paris
- Grand Palais
- Mennour
- ARTnews
- Ministério do Interior francês
- Centre Pompidou
- Museu de Arte do Condado de Los Angeles
- Museu Yuz
- Bienal de Veneza
- Dasartes
- Art Basel
- Ministero dell'Interno
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Avenue Winston Churchill
- Poland
- Berlin
- Germany
- Los Angeles
- Shanghai
- Venice
- Italy
- Carrara