Press Release

Esther Schipper is pleased to present a selection of works by Philippe Parreno at its Paris gallery on Place Vendôme, coinciding with Art Basel Paris.

For this presentation, the gallery takes on the appearance of a domestic interior. The works inhabit an apartment-like setting where architecture, objects, and natural light become part of a choreography unfolding over time.

Two motorized blinds, each following its own sequence scripted by Parreno, move independently across the windows. Alternately veiling and revealing the openings, like a pair of eyes opening and closing, they modulate the room’s luminosity and, with it, the appearance of everything it contains. These shifting conditions activate Chronochromes (2026), a wallpaper in which a palm motif repeats across a phosphorescent surface. Exposed to light, the material accumulates energy; as the room darkens, the image begins to glow, before slowly fading back into darkness.

Alongside it, Happy Ending (2014–ongoing) and Moving Lamps (2024–ongoing) extend Parreno’s exploration of duration, light, and the autonomous behavior of objects. Animated by flickering light, the lamps acquire an almost automaton-like quality, suggesting a ghostly presence. Reappearing here in new configurations, they continue a process of transformation in which objects retain traces of their previous incarnations.

A new work, Marquee (2026), takes the form of a bas-relief that produces an illusion of perspective. Its lights pulse according to predetermined sequences, introducing another rhythm into the gallery. Together, the works transform the apartment into a changing environment, where light, time, and the movements of seemingly ordinary objects continually alter the perception of the space. Rather than remaining a neutral setting, the domestic interior becomes an active participant in the unfolding of the works.

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Philippe Parreno will present the global premiere of Riverrun at the 21st Edition of the Rome Film Festival on October 24, 2026. Philippe Parreno: 5 Moons will open at The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney on November 21, 2026 until April 26, 2027.

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About the Artist

Philippe Parreno is a French artist who rose to prominence in the 1990s, earning critical acclaim for his work that spans a diversity of media, including film, sculpture, drawing, and text.

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Also Exhibiting at Esther Schipper

Address
16 place Vendôme
Paris
France
Opening Hours
Tues - Fri, 11 am - 6 pm
Saturday by appointment
(1)
Paris Esther Schipper Paris, 16 place Vendôme
Esther Schipper Paris
16 place Vendôme, Paris, France
+33 142331767

Opening hours
Tues - Fri, 11 am - 6 pm
Saturday by appointment
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