Artworks

Map

From creation to renovation
Over the past sixty years, more than sixty works of art have joined La Défense. Some signed by prestigious artists - César, Miró, Moretti, Calder - others less well known. Frescoes, statues and basins represent the great currents of contemporary art, from abstraction to surrealism, via kinetic art or land art.
More recently, Paris La Défense has even become an essential street art meeting place through events such as Urban Week.

Beyond the diversity of currents and forms, there is a common concern: to improve the living environment of the inhabitants and employees of the business district, to bring to the latter a supplement of art as well as a supplement of soul. One of the first major investment projects in the 1970s was the removal of the four exhaust stacks, which at the time were considered too large and unsightly. The district therefore called on various artists to come up with designs to dress them up. Among them were Guy-Rachel Grataloup (Les Trois Arbres), Édouard François (Cheminée végétalisée), but above all Raymond Moretti (Le Moretti). The latter chose the business district, then in full development, to install his famous Monstre. A creature still lurking under the district's slab, mixing painting, sculpture and welding.

From creation to restoration
Very quickly, the question of restoring the works also arose. In the 2000s, Paris La Défense understood that their maintenance could be as important as the arrival of a new artist. Since 2015, a major heritage enhancement and restoration operation has been undertaken, including the renovation of ten works deemed to be priorities, thus participating in the renewal of the image of Paris La Défense. The contemporary art exhibition Les Extatiques is part of this logic: more than an economic lung, the district is also asserting itself as a cultural destination in its own right.

Discover the artworks of art installed in Paris La Défense

More than fifty artworks of art are located directly in the public space. To (re) discover them, routes marked by the label panels will guide visitors from one work to another on the Grand Axe (double lines) route and in connection with the Quartiers route (single lines).

Like the La Défense district, this collection is bound to evolve, transform and strengthen.

Many other artistic initiatives exist in the area.

Public Form, the urban furniture biennial

Art in Paris La Défense also means design in the public space. With Forme Publique, Paris La Défense wishes to define a common base that meets everyone's needs while creating reproducible and industrialisable furniture. The people of La Défense are then invited to come and test the creations of the designers selected.


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