iLargeÎle Seguin
Moteur Imaginaire
Large's opening show, curated by Cecilia Alemani: works from Renault's art collection beside 17 new commissions, over 100 works by 55 artists on humans, factories and machines.
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A Renault 12 sits in the gallery with suitcases, bags and parcels piled on it like a mountain, and L'Espresso's reporter spotted a bottle of garlic oil on the dashboard. Mohamed El Khatib made R12 cathédrale for this show as a monument to working-class migration, on the island where Renault built cars for most of the 20th century.
Curator Cecilia Alemani sets works from Renault's own collection, many made when its late-1960s Recherches, Art et Industrie programme let Tinguely, Dubuffet, Vasarely and Arman work inside the factory, beside 17 new commissions. Over a hundred works by 55 artists run through five chapters, from the factory floor to the car as object of desire to the algorithm. Once inside, you pass a 1970s Estafette van rebuilt as a roving chapel.
Tickets are €15, €10 reduced and free for anyone under 26. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00 to 19:00, until 21:00 on Fridays, and free 20-minute "Large Express" tours come with your ticket.
Editor's pick
The opening show at Large, the new art centre on Île Seguin, where Renault built cars until 1992. Cecilia Alemani hangs Tinguely, Dubuffet and others from Renault's own art collection beside 17 new commissions, among them a Renault 12 piled high with luggage.
Look for
R12 cathédrale
Mohamed El Khatib's Renault 12, loaded with a mountain of luggage and parcels, with a bottle of garlic oil left on the dashboard.
R23-F1
Bertrand Lavier's Renault Formula 1 car, covered in the broad, Van Gogh-style acrylic brushstrokes he has been painting onto everyday objects since the 1980s.
Estafard
Romuald Jandolo turns a 1970s-80s Renault Estafette van into a rolling chapel, crossing factory work with the stained-glass maker's craft.
Analog Pits
Bianca Bondi's stripped Renault 9 carcass, slowly altered by salt water, crystallisation and stabilised plants.
Souvenirs cassés
Nine tapestries Zhenya Machneva wove on a hand loom, centred on a composition based on the engine of her grandfather's Renault Kangoo.
Good for
- Evening Visits
- Out-Of-Town Guests
- Small Kids
Skip if
You want one artist in depth: this is over a hundred works by 55 artists.
With kids
Free for under-26s. Mini Large storytelling tours for ages 3 to 6 run weekends at 11:00 (€10 per child), and the free Petit Atelier for ages 6 to 12 needs booking; pushchairs can be left at the cloakroom.
On now nearby
Image credits
5
- Moteur ImaginaireBertrand Lavier, R23-F1, 2026. Vue de l'exposition Moteur Imaginaire, 2026. Collection du Fonds de dotation Emerige, Paris. © Adagp, Paris, 2026. Crédit photo : Aurélien Mole
- Mungo Thomson: Monument© Mungo Thomson. Courtesy l'artiste, galerie frank elbaz, and Karma.
- Nanténé Traoré — pays des merveillesCourtesy of Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP)
- La saison américaine du musée de l'ArméeCourtesy of Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides)
- Large© RCR Arquitectes - G. Trégouët / CALQ agence d'architecture, Photographie © Nicolas Trouillard