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‘RICHARD SERRA: PROMENADE’ OPENS MAY 7 AT GRAND PALAIS IN PARIS

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PARIS — Following the widespread public attention and critical success of Monumenta’s inaugural edition in 2007, American sculptor Richard Serra is poised to unveil a new work in the central nave of the 145,000-square-foot Grand Palais, just off the Champs-Elysees. Evocatively titled “Promenade,” the sculpture comprises a series of five individual steel elements, each measuring almost 60 feet high and weighing more than 70 tons. It will be on view from May 7 to June 15.

2008 marks the second annual Monumenta, a presentation of new work in the Grand Palais by a leading international artist. Serra follows Anselm Kiefer, who participated in 2007, and precedes Christian Boltanski, scheduled for Monumenta 2009. For six weeks the domed, sky lit Grand Palais will provide a striking backdrop to Serra’s signature steel sculptures. In spring 2007, Monumenta drew more than 135,000 visitors over the course of less than five weeks, for an average of 38,000 visitors per day.

Bold and majestic, tall and thin, “Promenade” plays off the contrasts offered by the aerial glass-and-steel latticework of the Grand Palais. In offering an experience that challenges visitors’ perceptions of balance and gravity, Serra posits the human scale against the monumental — art against architecture. Sixty feet high and only inches wide, the piece will seem precariously installed in the great dome of the building. Serra’s “Promenade” has been described as a whole-body experience, a confrontation with space through sculpture, which should touch every visitor in a unique way.

For the last 30 years, Serra (b 1939) has been a major figure in American sculpture. His monumental steel sculptures have defined a strand of Minimalism in which the production process and the dialogue between the work and its environment are brought into sharp relief.

For more information, (011-33-0) 1-45-26-18-12 or www.monumenta.com.