The Musée Cantini has recently re-opened and is hosting an exhibition of paintings from Glasgow’s Burrell Collection, itself now closed for renovation. Sir William Burrell, a member of a wealthy Scottish ship-building family, was an avid collector of art and amassed 9000 items he donated to Glasgow in 1944.  He …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Ai Weiwei and Marseille This is a highly political show – highly personal too. Much is about the artist’s relationship with his father (Ai Qing) whose ship from Shanghai back in 1929 docked right next to where MuCEM is today. Indeed it was France that inspired …

Here’s a suggestion for an interesting art lover’s outing, about an hour’s drive from Aix-en-Provence.  La Commanderie de Peyrassol is not only a successful Var vineyard producing 500,000 bottles of wine a year but is a fast-growing contemporary sculpture park. Continue reading here for details from Lynne’s visit to this vineyard’s modern …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: The Bastide Rose is the beautiful honey-coloured home of Poppy Salinger who was married to JFK’s press secretary, journalist and writer Pierre Salinger. It stands by the translucent river Sorgue and is the setting for an annual sculpture show. This year, its theme is Amour, in …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Adding to my previous post, which concentrated on the opening weekend for the Picasso-Picabia exhibition at the Musée Granet. There will be a weekly guided tour of the exhibition in English on Fridays at 15:00hrs (entry fee + 4 euros). French tours will take place Tues-Sun at …

NG Art Creative Residency Nicky Ginsberg has been engrossed in the world of art and emerging artistic talent for over 30 years. Born in the United Kingdom, Ginsberg ended up in Sydney, Australia after a stint in France. Over that period, her art history background, understanding of the commercial aspects …

Vincent Van Gogh Meets Provence Born in the Netherlands in 1853, Vincent Van Gogh started his painting in his twenties. Among his works were several themes, like self-portraits, landscapes, still life competitions, and plant paintings such as sunflowers and cypress trees. During these early times, most people did not appreciate …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: The Hotel de Caumont has been open for 5 years now as an arts centre, and this current exhibition,’ Nicolas de Stael in Provence’ has to be the best I have seen here. It focuses on the short time this interesting painter spent in Provence, July 1953-June …

The Foundation Carmignac opened to the public on June 1st. This display of modern art is in a vast (1500 sqm) gallery inside a Provencal villa on the beautiful island of Porquerolles. Financier Edouard Carmignac has put the collection together. It includes works from the American Pop Art School, including …

The Paul Cézanne statue at the Rotonde in Aix is the work of Dutch sculptor Gabriël Sterk who not only produced it but also organized its funding: when I interviewed him at the time, he explained that he had recently moved to the town and couldn’t understand why there was …