For its summer exhibition, from June 13 to September 10, 2025, the HELENE BAILLY gallery pays tribute to Paris, the capital of the arts, and to the studios of Montparnasse where some of the finest chapters of the School of Paris were written. Curated by Armand Camphuis, the exhibition "Montparnasse and the School of Paris: Stories of Studios" explores these iconic sites in the history of modern and contemporary art.
La Ruche and the Cité des Artistes, Villa Vassilieff and the Cité Falguière—these legendary studios thrived during the first half of the 20th century. Artists from around the world lived and worked there, forging friendships and rivalries as they shaped modernity. From a haven, Montparnasse became the cradle of an iconic generation. By exhibiting works by Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, Marie Laurencin, Moïse Kisling, Henri Laurens, Fernand Léger, Robert Delaunay, Ossip Zadkine, and Tsuguharu Foujita, the HELENE BAILLY gallery celebrates the School of Paris—its places and its protagonists.
In dialogue with these modern icons, the gallery invites four contemporary artists from the POUSH artist incubator to take over the gallery space. Valentina Canseco, Juliette Minchin, Lisa Ouakil, and Dune Varela embody this new inspired and daring generation. A new School of Paris that promotes diverse voices, supports female creation, and positions itself as a new avant-garde at the forefront of the international art scene.
From Montparnasse to Aubervilliers, from the School of Paris to contemporary practices, this exhibition highlights the importance of artists’ studios for the Parisian avant-gardes—past and present. The HELENE BAILLY gallery is proud to foster this intergenerational dialogue, emphasizing both the ruptures and shared intuitions that have shaped a century of artistic creation.
From 1900 to 2025, art history is once again being written in the studios of Paris.