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Big Bang: Destruction and Creation in 20th-Century Art at Centre Pompidou

exhibition · 2026-04-23

From June 15, 2005, to February 27, 2006, the Musée National d'Art Moderne (Mnam) at the Centre Pompidou hosted 'Big Bang: Destruction et création dans l'art du 20e siècle.' Curated by Catherine Grenier and others, the exhibition thematically organized artworks around concepts such as 'Destruction', 'Subversion', 'Grotesque', 'Monochrome', and 'Vanité', utilizing various media. Noteworthy pairings included Yves Klein's 'Monochrome IKB 3' (1960) alongside Ellsworth Kelly's 'Dark Blue Panel' (1985). A dedicated 'Chaos' room featured pieces by Fernand Léger, Georges Braque, and others. While some critics deemed the framework derivative, the exhibition was lauded for its innovative recontextualization of modern art, addressing Mnam's spatial limitations.

Key facts

  • Exhibition 'Big Bang: Destruction et création dans l'art du 20e siècle' at Centre Pompidou, Paris
  • Dates: June 15, 2005 – February 27, 2006
  • Curated by Catherine Grenier with five co-curators
  • Thematic, non-chronological display of Mnam's collection
  • Included painting, sculpture, photography, design, architecture, literature
  • Featured works by Léger, Braque, Wool, Pollock, Picabia, Delaunay, Johns, Klein, Kelly
  • Explored destruction and creation as dialectical forces
  • Mnam displays less than 2% of its collection due to space limitations

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Artists

Institutions

Locations

  • Paris
  • France
  • Metz
  • Hong Kong
  • Vienna

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