Paris, France — It is an outpouring of human heads. A tribute to the human face. The current exhibition at the Institut Giacometti is a face to face between Alberto Giacometti and the contemporary Lebanese artist and filmmaker Ali Cherri. Entitled Envisagement, a term that refers both to the act of envisaging something and the evocation of the face (visage, the Anglo-French word for face circa 1300 as well as the modern French word for face), the show juxtaposes the works of Giacometti with those of Cherri alongside a rich selection of paintings, sculptures and drawings by Alberto Giacometti from the collection of the Foundation. It is a continuation of the ongoing dialogues by diverse artists with works of Giacometti held as temporary exhibitions several times throughout the year. 

Left: Alberto Giacometti Grande Femme,1958. ©Succession Alberto Giacometti/ADAGP, Paris 2024. Photo courtesy Giacometti Foundation. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette Right: Ali Cherri, La Grande Dame, 2023. Collection of the artist/©Ali Cherri. Photo courtesy Giacometti Foundation. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette 

The human face in the exhibition comes across as a relentless search, a creation in the making, something being envisioned as the title of the exhibition suggests. Most of the pieces by Cherri were especially conceived for the show by the artist who also designed the exhibition’s original scenography. The contemporary artist was given Carte Blanche for the show and he worked as well with the collection of several museums including the National Gallery in London and the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Marseille to underscore the history of objects and he ultimately sets up at the Institut Giacometti a dialogue with Giacometti around the representation of the human head, the main theme in their works. 

Cherri shares with Giacometti a passion for the art of ancient civilizations, especially Mesopotamia from which both artists have drawn their inspiration. “All the art of the past, of all eras, of all civilisations, suddenly appeared before me, all was simultaneous, as if space was taking the place of time,” wrote Giacometti in 1965. This gathering of sculpted heads brings together the iconic, like Giacometti’s Standing Woman, circa 1961, his Clay Head of Man, 1962-1965, together with Ali Cherri’s extremely aesthetic The Walking Head, 2023 and Mudhead, 2023. 

The Fondation Giacometti Institut is in the heart of the Montparnasse district of Paris where the 20th century artist also had his home and studio albeit in a different location. The foundation is located in a beautiful building where the exhibition spaces enable the visitor to dialogue with the art works. The Fondation is also a center for the study of art history dedicated to modern art techniques. Guided tours of the temporary exhibition and of Giacometti’s reconstructed studio are available in English on Sundays. Workshops, conferences and performances are all on the agenda as well. Reservations are recommended. The current exhibition is running until March 24th. The next exhibition at the Institut, with the participation of the Japanese photographer and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto and set in a Noh theater-like decor, opens on April 5th. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. https://www.fondation-giacometti.fr/en 5 rue Victor-Schoelcher, 75014 Paris, France, +33 (0)1 44 54 52 44