Paris, France — A traditional Japanese Noh theater has popped up in Paris and it is surprisingly peopled with the distinctive skinny statues of Alberto Giacometti and the photographs of the world renowned Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. Entitled Giacometti/Sugimoto, Staged, the exhibition takes the visitor into a Noh stage set at the Insitut Giacometti in the Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris. The exhibition juxtaposes the works of the two artists all the while underscoring their similarities particularly in their fascination with the support mediums they used in their works and how both apparitions and reality enter into their work. The show features a selection of sculptures by Giacometti and photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto as well as films and antique Noh masks from the artist’s collection. Sugimoto chose the emblematic works by Giacometti that inhabit the exhibition.

It all began back in 2013 when the MoMA in New York invited the Japanese artist to take photographs of the sculptures in the museum’s impressive sculpture garden and the first work to capture his attention was Giacometti’s Tall Woman III. He would photograph it twice, once in broad daylight and once at dusk, the result can be viewed in the exhibition. They are part of his series Past Presence which focused in on a choice of icons from Modern Art. He would donate eight of the photographs that depict Giacometti’s works to the Fondation Giacometti. Sugimoto works with large format cameras, is particularly attached to silver halide printing, photographic prints using light-sensitive paper and silver-based chemistry, and takes a special interest in the chemistry involved in the development of film. But he also uses the negatives of Polaroids for self-portraits and portrait photography. His passion for materials are akin to the drawings made by Giacometti on random materials like newspapers, books, paper tablecloths and envelopes that can be found in the exhibition.

In addition to the fabric curtain, Pines 2022, by Hiroshi Sugimoto, which works as the backdrop for Giacometti’s statues in the opening room of the show, four extracts of filmed stage performances that Sugimoto produced of Noh theatre in the historical Himeji castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, can be viewed at the show. Japanese Noh theater is a form of theater involving music, dance and drama which originated in the 14th century. It is one of the oldest major theater arts still practiced today. The exhibition also features antique Noh masks from Sugimoto’s personal collection. The masks worn by the actors help them to summon the spirits of the dead onto the stage. The masks in Noh presentations are carved from blocks of Japanese cypress.

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 Saturdays at 11am. Workshops, conferences and performances are all on the agenda as well. Reservations are recommended. The current exhibition is running until June 23rd. ©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