In this gigantic new space, the luxury squat-house atmosphere has been lost, and instead, the Palais de Tokyo has gained new exhibition rooms (this time the walls are white, unlike in the heroic times of Jerome Sans and Nicolas Bourriaud), new rooms for projections and concerts, and — as can be seen in the installation of Intense Proximité Triennale, which opens next week — higher quality exhibition spaces. Among the works which directly intervene in the palace's skin, the beautiful Death of a King by Ulla von Brandenburg, which blends in oniric manner a double skateboard ramp with a theatre set. The scale is breathtaking and dreamlike. The acid colors and psychedelic costumes are inspired by theatre costumes, and romatically describe a place for the commedia dell'arte of contemporary art. The seven manga glass windows by Cristian Marklay mark the space, evoking Duchamp and his shattered Large Glass. The wall drawings in hazardous chemicals (cyanide, arsenic and mercury) by Maria Loboda emphasise the modern alchemy of ideas implied in the dangerous cultural use to which they are exposed. The new director of the space seems to have understood the legacy and mission of the Palais de Tokyo, refusing to neglect any of the contemporary currents. The trial run takes place from 20 April, with the opening of the Triennale curated by Okwui Enwezor, which promises to add real anthropological substance to these two days of ephemeral experiences.
Palais de Tokyo
13 Avenue du Président Wilson, Paris
20 April to 26 August 2012
