Louvre Censors Atelier Van Lieshout's 'Domestikator' Sculpture as Too Sexy for FIAC

The Louvre museum has banned a sculpture by Dutch collective Atelier Van Lieshout from its Hors les Murs exhibition during FIAC, citing explicit sexual content. The 13-meter-tall walk-in work titled 'Domestikator,' which resembles a Lego-like sexual act, was scheduled for display from October 19 to 22 in the Tuileries Garden. The museum deemed the piece inappropriate due to its proximity to a playground and high tourist foot traffic. Collective founder Joep van Lieshout criticized the decision, stating a museum should explain art, not censor it, and noted the work's abstract form lacks genitalia. The sculpture was previously exhibited without controversy at the 2015 Ruhrtriennale festival in Bochum, Germany, where it remains on view. The censorship sparked debate in France about limits of contemporary art. Meanwhile, Frieze London is presenting censored works by nine female artists from the 1970s-80s in a section titled 'Sex Work: Feminist Art & Radical Politics,' curated by Alison M. Gingeras, contrasting with FIAC's approach.