Neon Exhibition at La Maison Rouge: A Critical Review

The exhibition 'Néon. Who's afraid of red yellow and blue?' at La Maison Rouge in Paris (February 17 – May 20, 2012) is critiqued by Erik Verhagen for its overcrowded and poorly curated display of neon artworks. Despite claiming to be the first major international survey of neon in contemporary art, the show suffers from a lack of dialogue between works, especially in the 'pioneers' room, and fails to create the atmospheric conditions necessary for the medium to shine. Notable exceptions include a formalist 'circle and square' section. The review contrasts this with Suzanne Pagé's successful 2006 Dan Flavin retrospective at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, which used spacious galleries for fluid arrangement. While the exhibition includes important historical and rare works by forgotten artists, the overall execution is deemed counterproductive, revealing neon's vulnerability to external factors.