Vija Celmins Joins Monet at Musée de l'Orangerie in 'Peindre le temps' Contemporary Counterpoint

Key facts

• The Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris hosts 'Peindre le temps,' an exhibition of about forty works by Claude Monet (1840–1926).
• The Monet exhibition is curated by Cécile Girardeau and Sophie Eloy.
• A parallel, smaller exhibition offers a 'contemporary counterpoint' to Monet, curated by Sophie Eloy and museum director Claire Bernardi.
• The counterpoint features a handful of works by Vija Celmins (born 1938), an American artist of Latvian origin.
• Celmins's works are displayed on the ground floor before the Nymphéas rooms and on the lower level near the entrance to 'Peindre le temps.'
• In 1890, Monet told critic Gustave Geffroy he had taken up 'impossible things' such as water with undulating grass.
• Celmins's presentation includes small gray paintings of wavelets and starry sky, plus two stones — one found in nature and one a perfect painted bronze copy.
• The Celmins 'Contrepoint contemporain' runs from September 30, 2026 to February 15, 2027 at the Musée de l'Orangerie, Jardin des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, 75001 Paris.