The American sculptor Charles Ray has been granted a great honour: he has been given the opportunity to realise a solo show at two locations in Paris. The Centre Pompidou and the Bourse de Commerce, Pinault Collection are offering their spaces to the contemporary artist. Ray is given curatorial freedom, the »carte blanche«. Both shows entitled Charles Ray complement each other and present the diversity of his œuvre, which is mainly composed of sculptures and photographs. The exhibitions will open on 16 February, at the Bourse de Commerce until 6 June and at the Centre Pompidou until 20 June.
Ray's œuvre deals with sculpture. His works respond to the art historical canon and develop new sculptural approaches. He often challenges the viewer by playing with scale and adding a twist to what appears real. Now, many of his sculptures will be on show in France for the first time. Around 20 works each will be exhibited, six of which are yet unpublished. Some of them come from François Pinault's collection, others have been lent. The Pinault Collection and Ray have been working together for many years. For example, Pinault commissioned the sculpture Boy with a frog for the opening of the Punta della Dogana in Venice.
