Elmgreen & Dragset: L’Addition
WHAT
The contemporary art duo bring their innovative vision to the Musée d’Orsay, merging performance, space, and sculpture in a groundbreaking exhibition. Disrupting traditional display modes, their latest installation invites visitors to experience the museum from a new perspective, showcasing a series of new figurative sculptures that explore contemporary masculinities while engaging in a dynamic dialogue with the museum’s historical collection.
WHY
Offering a fresh exploration of masculinity and identity, the exhibition sheds light on underrepresented narratives in art history. The sculptures capture moments of leisure and vulnerability, contrasting with the more rigid portrayals in the museum’s permanent collection. The artists’ playful use of neoclassical materials and contemporary elements—such as hyper-realistic figures frozen in everyday moments, street clothes, and technology—creates a compelling narrative that bridges past and present, inviting viewers to reflect on themes of vulnerability, self-discovery, and societal expectations.