Jean Dubuffet's Winter Garden at Centre Pompidou

The Centre Pompidou in Paris presents Jean Dubuffet's "Winter Garden" installation on the fourth floor, room 6. Created in the late 1960s, the work is part of a larger project and features an irregular door leading into an enclosed space resembling a blind cave with white irregular walls accentuated by black lines. Made from a polystyrene model painted with vinyl, then enlarged and covered in polyurethane, the installation evokes Plato's cave myth, prompting visitors to reflect on the true nature of things. Dubuffet, born in Le Havre in 1901 and died in Paris in 1985, is the father of Art Brut, a concept he formulated to describe artistic productions by non-professionals such as self-taught individuals, psychotics, and prisoners. The exterior of the installation appears as a white box with perfectly aligned steps, contrasting with the interior's tribal and cave-like aesthetic. The transition occurs through an irregular portal, embodying Dubuffet's theories that our conception of reality is "an ancient invention collectively adopted and of which our mind has convinced itself." A video allows visitors to explore the black-and-white work in the artist's typical style.