Indigo as far as the eye can see, Ivorian photo-novels from the 70s, artists who chose the countryside over Paris… This new season is frankly a success. Here are our five favorite picks, to see until February 14, 2027.
1. Valérie John, indigo as memory
It's the visual knockout of the season ! In the Grande Verrière, the Martinique-born Valérie John has deployed blue fabrics everywhere: on the walls, on the floor, suspended in mid-air. You move from the deepest blue to an almost brilliant black, which gives the exhibition its title, « I telman nwè ki i blé », "so black it becomes blue » in Creole. Born in Fort-de-France in 1964, the artist learned indigo dyeing in Senegal, where she still lives part of the time. She recovers fabric wraps, papers, old books, then assembles them
the in successive layers. Each piece tells a story: water, grief, and the memory that connects Africa and the Caribbean.
Valérie John, I telman nwè ki I blé, 2021. Courtesy of the artist ©Adagp, Paris, 2026
Good to know: from February 12 to 14, 2027, choreographer Christiane Emmanuel will come dance among the artworks, a 45-minute performance for which Valérie John had designed the set in 2010.
2. "You and Your Crew", Art Far From the Cities
Around twenty artists and collectives, with one thing in common: they create far from major cities. In the Cévennes, in Corsica, in Brittany, in Guadeloupe, in the Hautes-Pyrénées or in the Basque Country. And in doing so, they shatter the cliché of a countryside living in the shadow of the city.
The common thread is "topophilia". In other words: the love we feel for a place, that emotional bond that attaches us to a territory
ritoire. Artist collectives, choirs, groups of high school students, communities of life or struggle—the exhibition is really about our ways of being together. The title actually comes from a work by Gina Proenza, the words "you and your gang" written in straw on the wall.
Angèle Dumont and Léa Lerma, Nocturama series 2021-2026. Courtesy of the artists © ADAGP, Paris, 2026.jpg
We absolutely loved the photos by Angèle Dumont and Léa Lerma, nocturnal scenes of friends hanging out, sitting on the sidewalk in front of a half-open door. And don't miss the piece that recreates a 70s-era apartment, you'll feel like you're really there.
Curated by: Liza Maignan. Concerts on November 12 at 7 pm, meet-up on November 14 at 4 pm.
3. Paul Kodjo, the king of Ivorian photo novels
It's the discovery of the season, and the very first major exhibition by the photographer in France. Born in 1939 and died in 2021 in Abidjan, Paul Kodjo studied photography in Paris in the late 1960s. Back in Ivory Coast in 1970, he founded his agency, MAMEDIS, combining photography, cinema, and publishing.
© Paul Kodjo, untitled, Dancing Evenings series, 1970s
His specialty: the photo novel. He was one of the first to try his hand at it in West Africa, with romantic stories full of twists published starting in 1971 in the weekly magazine Ivoire Dimanche. The titles set the tone: Martha the Ungrateful, The One Who Brought Bad Luck, Two Women One Man. But he also photographed Abidjan's nights, the dancing evenings, the elephant pants and afro hairstyles, right in the middle of the "Ivorian miracle". The result: ultra-stylish black and white prints that you'll want to frame in your home.
4. Sonia Gomes, fabrics that come to life
We stay with textiles and the Brazilian artist Sonia Gomes, born in 1948. Her journey is already a story: a lawyer penFor years, she pursued other paths, then turned to art in her forties, becoming one of the major figures of the contemporary scene. Her method: gathering fabrics found or given to her, ropes, embroideries, scraps of wood, then knotting, twisting and assembling them. Her sculptures, hung on walls, placed on the ground or suspended, resemble living organisms. Red appears everywhere, like a guiding thread. Behind the softness of materials lies a powerful message: Afro-Brazilian heritage, the memory of colonization and what gets passed down from one generation to the next. To see at Wilson Gallery, under the title "Wild Heart."
© Sonia Gomes, Aninhado, 2019. Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood
5. Lassana Sarre, security guards as heroes
You'll spot this one as soon as you enter, in the lobby. Painter Lassana Sarre, born in 1994 in Paris and who grew up in Vitry-sur-Seine, spent time with the security teams at the Palais de Tokyo. Their rounds, their breaks, their meals, their little conversations.
He created immense murals, canvases and a sound installation from it. Those we pass without ever really looking at suddenly become the museum's stars. Inspired by Velázquez, Courbet and Manet, he explores the place of Black bodies in the history of painting. A simple idea, and a brilliant one.
From Valérie John's blues to Paul Kodjo's Abidjan nights, through the campaigns of "You and Your Crew," this season ultimately speaks of one thing: what binds us to a place, and to the people who inhabit it. And there's a good chance you'll leave the Palace wanting to come back. Good news—you have until February 14th!
"All the Lights, All the Flowers"
Palais de Tokyo
13, avenue du Président-Wilson – 16th
Until February 14, 2027
Daily except Tuesdays, noon to 10 pm (midnight on Thursdays)
Full price €13, reduced €9, free for under 18s
Learn more