Elmgreen & Dragset pursue questions of identity and belonging. The artists examine social, cultural, and political structures in their artistic practice. They are interested in the discourse that can arise if objects are radically re-contextualised and if normal modes for the representation of art are altered.

Considering 19th century representations of masculinity in the museum’s collection, the duo’s major architectural intervention (15 October 2024–2 February 2025) in the iconic sculpture nave of the museum features a series of new figurative sculptures.

For the first time in its history, the Musée d’Orsay’s sculpture nave has undergone a radical transformation, devised by the artists Elmgreen & Dragset. While challenging conventional modes for displaying art, their exhibition L’Addition explores representations of contemporary masculinities in dialogue with the permanent collection, highlighting similarities and differences in artistic approaches to figuration.

At the heart of the nave, Elmgreen & Dragset have constructed a large platform suspended above the museum’s permanent display of 19th century sculpture, which has remained the same for nearly 40 years. The underside of the structure replicates the tiled floor below, creating the illusion of inverted space. From here, five of the artists’ figurative sculptures hang upside-down. Elmgreen & Dragset are known for their large-scale immersive installations that transform museum and gallery spaces into facsimiles of public and private environments. For their show at the Musée d’Orsay, however, they directly interact with the existing spatial features of the art institution.

–

Images: courtesy Elmgreen & Dragset, Musée d’Orsay. Photography by Andrea Rossetti, 2024.