The body as medium, message, and muse at the Bourse de Commerce

The Bourse de Commerce in Paris presents Corps et âmes (Bodies and Souls), an ambitious exhibition exploring the representation of the body in contemporary art. On view from March 5th to August 25th, 2025, the show features nearly one hundred works from the Pinault Collection, bringing together artists such as Georg Baselitz, Duane Hanson, Ana Mendieta, Niki de Saint Phalle, and Arthur Jafa. Through painting, sculpture, photography, and video, the exhibition examines the body as a site of transformation, identity, and resistance.

A highlight of the exhibition is Arthur Jafa’s powerful video installation Love is the Message, the Message is Death, displayed in the Rotunda. The work weaves together historical and contemporary footage of Black American life, set to the soaring melodies of gospel and jazz, transforming the space into a pulsating visual and auditory experience. Jafa’s piece captures the contradictions of joy and pain, offering an emotional meditation on race, history, and cultural memory.

Another key work is Duane Hanson’s hyperrealistic sculpture Seated Artist, positioned on the second floor of the Bourse de Commerce. Hanson’s uncanny ability to recreate the human form in fiberglass and resin blurs the line between life and art, prompting viewers to question the nature of presence and absence. His figures, often depicting ordinary individuals in moments of quiet contemplation, invite an intimate engagement with themes of social identity and human vulnerability.

Kerry James Marshall’s Beauty Examined offers a striking reinterpretation of historical anatomical paintings, drawing from Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson. The piece engages with the historical exploitation of Black bodies while reclaiming the act of representation. Similarly, Deana Lawson’s large-format photographic portraits capture personal and familial narratives, presenting intimate, staged compositions that explore themes of power, love, and legacy.

Corps et âmes extends beyond visual art, incorporating a carefully curated musical program that echoes the exhibition’s themes. In Gallery 7, listening stations feature a selection of jazz, gospel, and experimental soundscapes, creating an immersive, multisensory experience. This interplay between sound and image reinforces the exhibition’s central theme: the body as both an artistic subject and a vessel of lived experience.

By bringing together diverse perspectives on the human form, Corps et âmes invites viewers to reconsider the body’s role in contemporary thought. Whether captured in paint, sculpted in bronze, or refracted through a digital lens, the body emerges as a dynamic force, constantly evolving and asserting its presence. As visitors navigate the exhibition, they are drawn into a dialogue between past and present, material and ephemeral, physical and spiritual.