Didier and Beatriz

One of the nice things about being new to a city is that you get out and actually do things. In New York, I became so lame about taking advantage of the museums. Here, I’ve already visited four museums and a number of galleries and fondations, and I’ve fallen hard for two artists.

Didier Paquignon is a young French painter who the girls and I stumbled upon at L’Orangerie when they were here in May. He was so good, I went back to see his exhibition a second time. There’s something about his work that really moves me. He uses really rich colors and strong lines and, whether he’s painting an urban landscape, a portrait or even a dog, there’s an intensity, rawness and beauty that’s really powerful.




And I’m relieved I pushed myself to go to the Fondation Cartier this week to catch the Beatriz Milhazes exhibition, which unfortunately ends tomorrow. If it were here longer, I’d go back to that one, too.

She’s a Brazilian artist who’s probably a little better known than Paquignon. She also uses really bright colors, though a more eclectic palette, to do these big, poppy paintings and collages that are maybe reminiscent of Matisse. She was also commissioned by the fondation to create something for the large windows.



They make me really happy.