I visited Paris in early December and now that I'm back I feel like I've woken up from a dream. It was my third time here but it' s only now that I realize I've been to Wonderland. Like my own "Nightmare before Christmas" I will show you the more playful sights of Paris and the scarier ones. The choice of the places is based on my passion for Pop Surrealism, art toys and everything that is both kowai (scary) and kawaii (cute). Let's get started.
Artoyz (@artoyz_officiel)
If you are art toy freaks this is THE place to be. Shelves full of colorful designer toys and a white and bright room that resembles a spaceship. Whether you're looking for a specific designer
toy or you like that surprise effect of blind boxes that give that childhood feeling, this place will surely leave you breathless. They also have a well-stocked collection of books on sale
ranging from street art to Pop Surrealism, from illustration to pop culture.
Musée en herbe (@museeenherbe)
This museum doesn't have a permanent collection on display but every temporary exhibit seems to revolve around the theme of games, toys and videogames. I had the chance to see the colorful
exhibit of Speedy Graphito (@speedygraphito) whose works often depict videogame and cartoon characters. I loved that the exhibition was fully interactive: I could wear glasses to discover
messages hidden in the works, the plants seemed silent but if you put your ears close to the tubes coming out of the leaves you could hear them singing. Just imagine that when I walked in they
welcomed me asking if I wanted to visit the exhibit wearing a super hero cape, isn't that great?
59 Rivoli (@59rivoli)
Beyond the multicolored doors of this magical place you will find yourself in front of a spiral staircase entirely covered with art. A wall of giant eyes, another one of colorful animals and in
each room an artist ready to welcome you into his studio. Make your way up to the top floor and don't miss the giant purple tentacles.
The Pocket Factory Benjamin Pietri art (@thepocketfactory) at Le Bon Marché
I've been following Benjamin Pietri on Instagram for some time and finding myself face to face with him in his exhibiting space inside Le Bon Marché was really exciting. Being a fan of toys and
wunderkammern when I saw his works I went crazy. Glass cases show inside action figures, butterflies and other insects, all arranged with incredible accuracy, as in the 17th century cabinets of
curiosities, where Naturalia and Artificialia juxtaposed to create a surreal and scientific effect at the same time.
Arts factory (@galerieartsfactory)
Here I visited the exhibitions of Beatrice Alemagna (@beatricealemagna) and John Kenn Mortensen (@johnkennmortensen). I had been following Mortensen for some time and I was delighted to be able
to see in person his monsters and eerie atmospheres depicted with an incredible precision of detail. Alemagna has been a wonderful discovery, not only for creating a more macabre version of Snow
White, which I appreciated a lot but also because I found out she was born in my city! Don't miss also the amazingly equipped bookstore, I wanted to buy everything, but in the end I put Mark
Ryden's Anima Animals (@markryden) and Jon Vermilyea's Fata Morgana (@jonvermilyea) in my suitcase.
Le Lavomatik and Spot 13
The first time I heard about Le lavomatik (@lelavomatik) was thanks to S3NSE's Cédric (@insta2cedric) and Benjamin (@benjam1.br) and I'm so happy I could finally visit it with them. If you love
street art, you can't miss it: inside you'll find books upon books dedicated to street art and gems I've never been able to find like the books by artists Codex Urbanus (@codexurbanus) and Jérôme
Rasto (@jeromerasto), which I immediately brought home with me. Psst! Toy collectors, here you can also find unique art toys customized by street artists.
Once out of Le Lavomatik, don't forget to go down the back stairway that will take you straight into the realm of street art: Spot 13 (@spot__13). You will be impressed by huge walls full of
works like this giant octopus.
And if you need to relax in front of a coffee after this art binge, I highly recommend Station F (@joinstationf) that is pretty close.
TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
Exhibition "À la pointe de l'art" at Musée De La Poste (@museeposte)
As a lover of art toys and creepy-cute art I really wanted to see the works of the artist Ciou (@ciou_art). It was also very interesting to discover other French illustrators that I was not
familiar with. François (@bard.toys) an expert of art toys and contemporary art came with me and not only kept me company but also recommended many gems of Paris I didn't know, including the
three exhibitions here below.
Exhibitions "Cats" and "Prince Rours" at Achetez de l'art gallery (@achetezdelart)
Just tell me there's a cat exhibit and you have my attention. Tell me there is a cat exhibition together with an exhibition of comic book characters and I will immediately run to you. Of the
artists on display, I only knew Luis Coelho (@purr.in.ink) who makes cats that look like those cuddly sooty balls from Spirited Away, so it was very nice to discover so many new ones. Same was
with Prince Rours (@prince_rours) whose portraits of Pokémon and Dragon Ball totally got me.
Exhibition "Bazar" of Monsta at Loft du 34 gallery (@loftdu34)
Monsta's art @worldofmonsta) is indeed a bazaar of curious animals, a bit like those fairs of the past with exotic creatures.
As François pointed out to me, it is really an interesting idea the contrast between the sketched body of the animals, as if drawn by a child, and the eyes, the muzzle or the beak with great
detail.
Exhibition "Ultime combat" at Musée de Quai Branly (@quaibranly)
Spoiler: when I saw in a photo that in the last room of this exhibition there was an endless collection of sofubi and other Japanese toys I thought: I can't miss it! And so it was and at the end
of the show there was even a kind of giant mecha-samurai to greet me.
Salon du Livre et de la Presse Jeunesse à Montreuil (@slpj_93)
In addition to my art toy hoarding I have a large collection of pop up books, illustrated books and comics. When I saw that a new carousel pop up book by Benjamin Lacombe (@benjaminlacombe) was
being released in early December and he would also be signing at the fair I screamed! Along with co-author Sébastien Perez (@plumederossignol)! Then I found out that Guillaume Bianco
(@guillaumebianco) would also be signing (I'm a huge Billy Brouillard fan) so I just couldn't miss it!
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