The recently debuted "Decadent Spirit: French Art at the Turn of the Century" is on view this summer at the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM), which is offering exclusive gallery chats.
The cost to view the exhibit is included with admission, which is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students with ID, $6 for youth (6 - 17), and no cost for children five and under. The exhibit is open until September 6.
The gallery chats are intended to give visitors a deeper dive into the exhibits, featuring those participating as informants in the gallery chats, known as docents, who will be standing by a specific piece, ready to answer questions about the works.
GRAM offers gallery chats for multiple exhibits, but the upcoming one for "Decadent Spirit” is taking place June 26 from 1-2:30 p.m.
The next one after that won’t be until August 22, at the same time of day. Those interested in attending either session are not required to register.
The art specifically focuses on French cultural production between the years 1880 and 1910, bringing together more than 130 works across a range of mediums. The exhibition features an eclectic range of architectural adornments in wrought iron, works of interior design (i.e. furniture), jewelry, paintings, sculptures, prints and posters, and films.
Terra Warren, who has been GRAM’s associate curator since 2022, explained her initial ideas when asked how the idea for the French exhibit was curated.
“I knew I wanted to tell a story about what it felt like to be surrounded by Art Nouveau forms in Paris in this moment, so I thought about how to convey just how pervasive these aesthetics were,” Warren said. “I was fascinated by how artists transformed the very ways in which they created these forms, which led to various subsections on the proliferation of paper, and the literary and advertisement revolutions taking place, advancements in metal working, and the dawn of film. I ended with a section on how artists envisioned the countryside and the rural landscape during this time period, because it makes you feel like you, too, are leaving Paris. I worked closely with our exhibition designer, David Otis, who has an exceptional eye for how visitors could move through the space that showcases the art in a way that feels magical.”
Lead exhibition sponsors include the Michigan Arts and Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, two organizations that prioritize arts and culture in everyday life and make it their mission to support arts in society.
The museum is located at 101 Monroe Center St NW, Grand Rapids, MI. Visitors can check the GRAM website for specific hours, as they vary by day.
“I hope people will walk away from the exhibition feeling inspired by those who came before us to live a life in a spirit of liberation, sociality, creativity, and the desire to push the boundaries of what is possible in terms of self-expression and to do it with joy alongside those in our community,” Warren said.
