Des mots et des mondes arose from a series of discussions about the role played by words in contemporary artistic practices, in which poetry and writing occupy an increasingly important place.
The exhibition explores how artists use words to create spaces of circularity and semantic shifts that allow for multiple narratives and worldviews, oscillating between writing and oral tradition. Words thus become vehicles for personal or collective emancipation, embodied in assemblages, positions and reconfigurations that are always intensely poetic.
Based on around a hundred works by students, artist-teachers and invited international artists, as well as collections from Beaux-Arts de Paris, Des mots et des mondes intertwines chronologies (from the 12th century to the present day), media (paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, videos, installations, artists' books, music, dance, etc.) and cultures to convey the incessant flow of information that surrounds us. It is not a question of saying more, but of saying things differently, in sensitive and unique ways, from multiple perspectives.
The exhibition is accompanied by a publication, a programme of events and a study day to be held on Wednesday 20 May 2026.
CURATION
Mélanie Bouteloup and Armelle Pradalier, co-heads of the "Artists & Exhibition Professions" programme.
With the participation of students from the programme: Jeyni Ba, Louise Baranger, Mickaël Berdugo, Clémence Carel, Jules Charabouska, Armel Cotinat Flynn, Sybille de Roquemaurel, Maeva Delettre, Eve Farache, Rafael Garcia Lara, Lucie Gholam, Sacha Kheireddine, Albane Liébel, Joséphine Loembe, Arthi Pauly, Laura Rutishauser, Tara Sammouri, Becem Sediri, Suzanne Vallejo Gomez, Léa Zarrad.
Scientific coordination for the collections: Estelle Lambert, curator of prints and manuscripts at the Beaux-Arts de Paris.
Associate teachers: Anne Bourse, Stéphane Calais, Claude Closky, Julien Creuzet, Tristan Garcia, Jean-Yves Jouannais, Emmanuel van der Meulen, Bruno Perramant and Chloé Quenum.
AMONG THE ARTISTS
Xavier Antin, Shafic Abboud, Hala Alabdalla, Youssef Abdelke, Mayssa Abdelaziz, Amal Abdenour, Tassiana Aït-Tahar, Al-Hariri, Chadine Amghar, Aristote, Omar Ba, Babi Badalov, Antoine-Louis Barye, William Basseux, Pietro Bertelli, Judith Blum Reddy, Alexander Boghossian, Salomé Botella, Martha Boto, Jules Bourgoin, Anne Bourse, Yassin Bouzid, Rodolphe Bresdin, Stéphane Calais, Saul Calcagni, Ferdinand Carlier, Minna Castren, Henri Chetaille, Claude Closky, Lucas Cranach l'Ancien, Isaac de Crecy, Julien Creuzet, Bady Dalloul, Honoré Daumier, Odonchimeg Davaadorj, Li Deshayes-Parre, François Desprez, Brune de Soto, Georgette Diallo, Ndidi Dike, Dornac, Clara Duflot, Dizy Durand-Gnougnou, Irène Fanshawe, Nicolas Faubert, Lucy Citti Ferreira, Fringues de Dingues, Dominique Fournier-Willoughby, Brandon Gercara, Claude Gillot, Adolphe Giraudon, Cily Gonzalez, Grandville Guichoune de Berroeta, Joseph Grigely, Abraham Hadad, Te Ata Hapaitahaa-Conroy, Shakir Hassan Al Said, Christine Herzer, Himat, Katsushika Hokusai, Daniel Hopfer, Anna Jaccoud, Jean-Yves Jouannais, Juliette Green, Manabu Kochi, Ndayé Kouagou, Elie Laflorencie, Christian Lattier, Jules Laurens, Lou Le Forban, Maëlle Lucas-Le Garrec, Lê Văn Dê, Seulgi Lee, Anouk Léger, Lucille Léger, Léon et Lévy, Htein Lin, Pierre Loti, Prosper-Georges-Antoine Marilhat, Léonard Martin, Mathis Pettenati, Lydia Matiegou, Chloé Mennous, Dimitri Milbrun, Nuria Mokhtar, Bruno Perramant, Clarisse Pillard, Giovanni-Battista Piranesi, Marius Plaksine, Monique Poncelet, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Raban Maur, Loïs Rambeau, Soa Ratsifandrihana, Stéphanie Saade, Nena Saguil, Nadia Saïkali, Clément Schaab, Ursula Schultze-Blum, Pascal Sebah, Vega Serafina, Cécil Serres, Marie-Rose Soanie, Wanrong Song, Camille Soualem, Daniel Spoerri, Lorenz Stoër, Christine Sun Kim, Antoni Tapies, Colombes Thaler, Théodore Valerio, Cecilia Vicuña, Adrianna Wallis, Hans Weigel, Pan Yuliang, Liu Yuquian, Ossip Zadkine, Radouan Zeghidour...
Visual credit : Halldora Magnusdottir
