January 26 2010 As part of the mission entrusted to him by the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Minister of Culture and Communication, Frédéric Mitterrand, Jean-Paul Cluzel, President of the Grand Palais and of the board of directors of the Réunion des musées nationaux (RMN), has invited leading personalities to take part in three task forces, exchanging and discussing their ideas and experience, and the potential of the Grand Palais / RMN project.
 
Press contact : Marjorie Lecointre - Tel. : + 33 (0)1 56 43 41 75 - marjorie.lecointre@grandpalais.fr

The artistic event of the spring, Art Paris is back at the Grand Palais with a new concept. Art Paris draws on the strength of the network of Paris galleries that are such active players on the international art market. This fair gives them the opportunity to create "an event within the event" by joining up with partners - "Guests" - or other international galleries, foundations, collectors, and even designers, writers, film directors, architects, fashions designers, musicians, and top chefs... Art Paris + Guests aims to become a place to meet and exchange ideas, reflecting the vitality of the Paris art market and the French art scene. 
With Art Paris + Guests, placing the emphasis on invention and crossover, gallery owners and their guest partners or co-producers become the exhibition's associate commissioners. The glass roof of the Grand Palais sheds a new light on the range and strength of the Paris art scene.
 
Press contact: CommunicationCulture Sylvia Beder assisted by Romane Dargent
Tel : +33 (0)1 42 18 09 42 - Fax: +33 (0)1 43 21 18 95 - communication@sylviabeder.com

February 24 - May 24 2010 Throughout his very long career, the deeply original British landscape painter J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) drew inspiration from works by both old masters and contemporaries. Turner was often uneasy, fussy and even deliberately competitive, but these relationships with his predecessors and peers was always productive, fuelling his progress along his most demanding path.
The "Turner and his painters" exhibition retraces and illustrates the development of Turner's very personal vision, through the many chance or deliberate, but always opportune and enriching interaction that influenced his remarkable career. Nearly 100 paintings and other graphic works (studies and engravings) from major British and American collections, as well as the Louvre and the Prado will be on show.
 
Press contact: Florence Le Moing - florence.lemoing@rmn.fr - +33 (0)1 40 13 47 62

March 31 - July 5 2010 / Galeries nationales of the Grand Palais For the first time in Europe a major event is to be devoted to Taoism.
The exhibition "The way of the Tao, another path to being" introduces westerners to a mode of thought and a conception of man's place in the universe that are fundamentally different from their own. Though, to many, Taoism, like the yin and the yang — with their elegant graphic symbol — and perhaps qigong, a form of open-air gymnastics that uses controlled breathing techniques, will be familiar, and indeed enticing concepts … an average westerner's knowledge is unlikely to be more than superficial. The different themes approached and illustrated in this exhibition will offer visitors a deeper insight into the philosophical, poetic, religious and scientific aspects of Taoism, "another way of living", the ultimate concern of which is the quest for a harmonious, enduring relationship between man and the universe.
With nearly 250 very wide-ranging works, from painting to sculpture, and ceramics to bronze and textiles, the exhibition shows how Taoism has been expressed over the centuries. Arranged thematically, it forms an original presentation of the finest items from the Musée Guimet in Paris, and from collections in Europe, the USA, and Taiwan. Little known or too often taken out of context, the works here regain their full significance.

Press contact: Florence Le Moing - florence.lemoing@rmn.fr or +33 (0)1 40 13 47 62

April 3 & 4 2010 / Nave of the Grand Palais On April 3 & 4 2010, Hermès, one of the big names in French fashion, will be bringing horses and horsemanship back to downtown Paris, reviving a great tradition of equestrian events in the Grand Palais. The "Saut Hermès", organised by Hermès in partnership with GL Events and the Grand Palais, will combine sport, culture and the arts, and celebrate different aspects of the equestrian world.
 
Press contact:
Anne-Laure Pandolfi - apandolfi@hermes.com - +33 (0)1 40 17 48 23