The Creators Project

Each year, Monumenta invites an internationally renowned artist to conceive of a site-specific installation for the great nave of the Grand Palais in Paris. The vast atrium space, which encompasses some 13,500 square meters, has been tackled previously by some of today’s preeminent contemporary artists, including Anselm Kiefer, Richard Serra and Christian Boltanski.

This year it played host to a colossal new work from the British sculptor, Anish Kapoor. Transforming the space into a red cavernous chamber that seems to extend beyond the scope of the structure that encapsulates it, Kapoor once again demonstrated the profound mastery of shape, scale and subtle use of eye-popping color that has made him such a force to be reckoned with on the international arts scene. Called Leviathan, the installation embodied the sense of awe-inspiring power and mysticism of the Biblical sea monster after which it is named.

“My ambition," said Kapoor in the press release, “is to create a space within a space that responds to the height and luminosity of the Nave at the Grand Palais. Visitors will be invited to walk inside the work, to immerse themselves in color, and it will, I hope, be a contemplative and poetic experience.”

Electronic music pioneer Richie Hawtin performed in this monumental, transfigurative setting on June 21, through a creative partnership between The Creators Project and WeLoveArt. Hawtin’s DJ set helped lend an entirely new artistic experience to the space through the integration of music.

For those of you who missed it, fear not. We documented the performance and the entire installation in an exclusive sit-down interview between Anish Kapoor and Richie Hawtin which can be viewed below.

Photo credit: Pierre Emanuel Rastoin