What to expect

The exhibition "Robert Ryman: The Active Gaze" at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris is a comprehensive presentation dedicated to the American painter Robert Ryman (1930-2019). It runs from March 6th to July 8th, 2024, marking the first major presentation of Ryman's work in France since 1981, when the Centre Pompidou organized his first retrospective in Paris.

Robert Ryman is often associated with the American minimalist movement and is renowned for his paintings in white, predominantly square in format. The exhibition highlights the uniqueness of his work through the concepts of surface, boundary, space, light, and duration.

The Musée de l'Orangerie, home to Claude Monet's ultimate masterpiece, the Water Lilies, provides an ideal setting for this reinterpretation of Ryman's work. Although Ryman rejected the notion of influence and the idea of exhibiting in dialogue with another artist, he inscribes himself in the history of painting by questioning each of its aspects and foundations. Like Monet before him, Ryman focuses almost obsessively on the specifics of his medium, exploring the concepts of surface, the boundary of the work, the space in which it integrates, the light with which it plays, and the duration in which it unfolds.

The exhibition is organized around these simple concepts — surface, boundary, space, light, duration — to better reveal the potentialities of painting and to show painting in its simplest form. It is designed to address a fundamental challenge of Ryman's approach: to reveal painting through the light and space in which it is inscribed.

The exhibition is curated by Claire Bernardi, director of the Musée de l'Orangerie, with the collaboration of Guillaume Fabius, assistant curator. The museum is open from Monday to Sunday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, except on Tuesdays. Admission prices are €12.50, with free entry for certain visitors.

Credits: Robert Ryman (1930-2019) Untitled, 2011 Pinault Collection Courtesy David Zwirner. Robert RYMAN (© Adagp, Paris, 2023 / Kerry McFate)

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Customer Reviews

5/51 review

Jeffrey S.

5/5

Ryman at Musee de l’Orangerie: Exceptional

March 10th 2024

Ryman exhibition at Musée de l’Orangerie was brilliant, and beautifully installed. The Ryman juxtaposed with the late, vast Monet waterlily paintings magnified the already incredible l’Orangerie experience exponentially. Booking with Come To Paris was easy and swift and accurate.