Huyghe and Parreno: The Enchanted Institution

A critical review by Nicolas Fourgeaud and Tristan Trémeau examines the recent exhibitions of Pierre Huyghe at Centre Georges-Pompidou (25 September–6 January) and Philippe Parreno at Palais de Tokyo (23 October–12 January). The authors argue that both artists, initially associated with relational aesthetics in the 1990s, have shifted toward spectacular, high-production exhibitions that risk neutralizing institutional critique. Huyghe's retrospective at Pompidou presents a chaotic, melancholic accumulation of fragments, with elements like a pink-legged dog and a hermit crab, but the authors see this as a decorative use of institutional critique rather than genuine critique. Parreno's 'Anywhere, Anywhere out of the World' at Palais de Tokyo embraces industrial spectacle, with references to Luna Park and a film 'Marilyn' (2012) that simplistically deconstructs the icon. The review questions the artists' claims of emancipation through spectacle, noting contradictions in Huyghe's denial of spectacle and Parreno's reliance on postmodern relativism. The authors conclude that both exhibitions, despite their ambitions, ultimately serve to enchant rather than critically engage the institution.