Fifty years after her last exhibition in France (1974) and three decades after her death, the Centre Pompidou-Metz presents Louise Nevelson. Mrs. N’s Palace, the first European retrospective of this scale devoted to Louise Nevelson. The exhibition honours an artist whose influence continues to resonate across contemporary art and fashion alike. Nevelson redefined twentieth-century sculpture, transforming it into a fully immersive and holistic experience. Accompanied by the first French-language monograph dedicated to Nevelson, the exhibition reconsiders her work through the lenses of installation, performance, and spatial experience.

Often associated with Cubism, Constructivism, or the collage practices of Dada and Surrealism, Nevelson’s work ultimately transcends such classifications. Echoing Jean Arp’s description of Kurt Schwitters as his “imaginary grandfather,” Nevelson developed an artistic universe that embraces a broader history of the arts, one in which dance and performance, central to this exhibition, occupy a pivotal role.

Louise Nevelson was a pioneer of large-scale environments, beginning with Moon Garden + One (1958), where she introduced immersive, theatrical installations using controlled lighting and monochrome assemblages, notably Sky Cathedral. At a time when installation art was still emerging, these works engaged the viewer’s entire body and transformed space into an experiential medium.

Deeply influenced by dance, movement (eurythmy), modern choreography, and her travels in Mexico and Guatemala, Nevelson conceived her environments as sacred, totemic spaces to be explored rather than confronted. Her internationally acclaimed “walls,” made from discarded urban materials unified by monochrome surfaces, function as architectural constructions of shadow and light.

The exhibition takes its title from Mrs. N’s Palace (1977), Nevelson’s final and self-mythologising environment, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, conceived as a life-size shrine that fully envelops the visitor.

A complementary public programme will further bring the exhibition to life, celebrating the figures who inspired Nevelson, particularly from the world of dance. It will invite contemporary reinterpretations of iconic modern choreographers, from Mary Wigman, Loïe Fuller, and Martha Graham to her friend and collaborator Merce Cunningham.

The show is on view in Metz, in the East of France, until the end of August 2026.