Palais de Tokyo and Paris Galleries Join Forces for Nouvelles Vagues

The Palais de Tokyo, in collaboration with the Comité des galeries d'art, organized the exhibition Nouvelles Vagues, running until September 9, 2013. The project aimed to rethink the relationship between private and public sectors in contemporary art. Over 14,000 people attended the opening on June 20, and on June 22, most of the 31 participating galleries were packed. The exhibition was split between the Palais de Tokyo and galleries, accompanied by a publication. Curators included French and international figures from the US, Turkey, and South Africa, some of whom were artists, museum curators, or writers. The initiative sought to renew the porousness between artists, curators, collectors, and gallerists, emphasizing galleries as primary experimental spaces. Jean de Loisy, director of the Palais de Tokyo, and Georges-Philippe Vallois, president of the Comité des galeries d'art, highlighted that the project aimed to give galleries a role beyond commerce. The title references the French New Wave in cinema, focusing on the artist as author. A jury including Jens Hoffmann, Massimiliano Gioni, Colette Barbier, and Jean-Hubert Martin selected curators under 40. The project was seen as a way to make Paris an art capital again, countering the summer lull and the dominance of art fairs and public sales.