Annette Messager (born in 1943 in Berck, France) and Christian Boltanski (1944-2021, Paris) met in Paris in 1970. These two major French artists became life partners and were recognised on the international scene from the 1970s on. Very early, they decided to separate their careers in order to develop independently from one another. They works were presented in a few group exhibitions in the 1970s, then shown together more sporadically.

This exhibition aims to restore a dialogue between their work by revealing its affinities, which have been little analysed due to a lack of opportunities to bring their pieces together. Around thirty works, mainly from the Centre Pompidou collection and created between 1968 and 2022, reflect their shared languages, interests and methods. From the artist’s book, home to the strangest inventories, to display cases created to collect traces of fictional stories, along with experimental use of photography, utilisation of similar objects and materials, and falsely autobiographical installations, Messager and Boltanski stimulated each other in the aim of surpassing themselves throughout their lives.

Beyond certain themes that occupied each one individually, like destiny and the human condition for Boltanski and women’s role in society for Messager, what appears clearly over time is the absence of the body for one and its presence for the other.