Join the University of Chicago Center in Paris, in partnership with the American Library in Paris, for a Chicago Book Salon. Lori Zimmer and illustrator Maria Krasinski will present their new book, Art Hiding in Paris: An Illustrated Guide to the Secret Masterpieces of the City of Light published by Running Press, alongside the Louvre’s Cyrille Gouyette, author of A street history of art (Gallimard 2021), and stencil artist Logan Hicks, whose first monograph of photography, Still New York, was published in late 2022.
The great artworks of Paris are not limited to museum walls. Art Hiding in Paris takes readers out of the gallery and into the city to discover the creative legacy all around us, from Art Nouveau remnants to artist enclaves to iconic works of public art. In this book salon, Zimmer and Krasinski will be in conversation with Gouyette, whose most recent book discusses the relationship between contemporary street art and art history, and stencil artist Logan Hicks, whose murals can be found in Paris, to discuss how bridging classical masterpieces with modern masters of urban art can make art history more accessible, inclusive — and fun.
About the speakers:
Lori Zimmer is a New York-based writer and author of four books including the recently published Art Hiding in Paris: An Illustrated Guide to the Secret Masterpieces of the City of Light, which Forbes Magazine has called “The Perfect Companion for Exploring the City of Light.” Published by Running Press at the end of 2022, the book is the follow up to Art Hiding in New York: An Illustrated Guide to the City’s Secret Masterpieces, a love letter to the magic of art history in Zimmer’s home city that was published in 2020. Before focusing as a writer full time, Zimmer spent 12 years in the New York art world as an independent curator, critic, and advocate for artists’ rights. She has been a consultant and artist liaison for copyright infringement cases with the New York law firm Kushnirsky Gerber PLLC since 2015. Zimmer currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the Historic Districts Council of New York City.
Maria Krasinski is a Paris-based artist, educator, and the illustrator of the Art Hiding book series. Her creative work — described as “charming,” “whimsical,” and “playful” — has appeared in the Chicago Public Library, Muhammad Ali Center, The Onion A.V. Club, and the Oriental Institute Museum. Inspired by cultural exchange and storytelling, she’s worked in public diplomacy, digital arts, and museums and currently runs a nonprofit news platform for youth. She studied public policy, international relations, psychology, and visual art at the University of Chicago, and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Tbilisi, Georgia. More recently, she came in second on Jeopardy.
Art historian, author and exhibition curator, Cyrille Gouyette works in particular at the Louvre Museum where he has developed numerous educational programs for school children, students, and the disabled. Passionate about street art, he has extended his research to the relationship between street art and classical heritage. Author of two books, Under street art, the Louvre (Gallimard, 2018) and A street history of art (Gallimard 2021), he shows the legacy of the old masters among street artists. Curator of various exhibitions bringing street art to the museum, “Veni, Vidi, Vinci — Urban art facing genius,” “Wild Incursions,” at the Museum of Hunting and Nature in Paris, he founded the association M.U.R. Bastille to exhibit urban artists from diverse backgrounds and show a panorama of this planetary art.
Logan Hicks is a New York-based stencil artist and photographer, known for his photorealistic multi-layered stencil paintings and murals. With an old master’s approach to light, Hicks’ paintings are dimensional explorations that seek to find the soul of architectural scenes around the world. His murals can be found in prominent places such as Baltimore’s Camden Yards and Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. He is most known for “Story of my Life,” his 2016 piece for the famed Bowery Wall, and for painting the world’s largest stencil mural, which used 19,000 square feet of stencils, in New York City’s East Harlem. His next large-scale mural will be painted in Paris in early April 2023, along the Seine in front of Fluctuart. Hicks’ photographs continue to examine his fascination with desolation in dense urban areas. He has shown his photographs in galleries in New York, Paris, Miami and Brussels. Still New York (published 11/22) is the first publication of Hicks’ photographs.
Important information: This event will take place in person at the University of Chicago University of Chicago Center in Paris at 6 rue Thomas Mann, Paris 75013.
Advanced registration required.
To RSVP for in-person attendance, email Arnaud Coulombel at acoulomb@uchicago.edu.
To attend on Zoom, click on this link to register.
