Exhibition All About Love at the Grand Palais

Categories : Exhibition, published on : 2/1/26

February: the Month of Love… and Bold Art

February may be the month of love, but this year Paris invites you to celebrate it beyond the usual flowers and chocolates. Set within the spectacular Grand Palais, All About Love is the major Parisian retrospective dedicated to Mickalene Thomas, an exhibition that explores love as a political gesture, a space of freedom and an act of self-affirmation. A compelling cultural experience for a February stay in Paris… and well beyond.

Mickalene Thomas: Redefining Representation

Internationally acclaimed American artist Mickalene Thomas (born in 1971 in New York) has been a leading voice in contemporary art for over two decades. Working across painting, collage, photography, video and installation, her practice boldly reconsiders the representation of Black women in art history and popular culture.

Through a Black queer feminist lens, Thomas reclaims the language of classical portraiture, placing Black women at the centre of the narrative : powerful, self-possessed and unapologetically modern.

All About Love: Love as Liberation

Inspired by "All About Love: New Visions " by American author and activist bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins), the exhibition positions love as its guiding principle. Here, love unfolds in many forms: self-love, intimacy, joy, resistance and the reclaiming of space.

Thomas’s works celebrate the beauty, autonomy and resilience of Black women. Friends, family members, lovers and cultural icons are portrayed with confidence, sensuality and grace. Embellished with rhinestones and rich textures, the compositions invite viewers into worlds where pleasure becomes political and representation becomes radical.

A Contemporary Dialogue with Art History

"All About Love" also engages in an incisive dialogue with European art history. Iconic works such as Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe and Ingres’ La Grande Odalisque are reimagined through a contemporary lens, repositioning Black women at the heart of historically exclusionary narratives.

These reinterpretations challenge established readings of canonical works, shedding light on long-standing absences and silences with striking visual and conceptual impact.

A Landmark Exhibition in Paris

Following acclaimed exhibitions at The Broad in Los Angeles, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Hayward Gallery in London and Les Abattoirs in Toulouse, All About Love marks the most ambitious presentation of Mickalene Thomas’s work ever staged in Paris. An unmissable exhibition for lovers of contemporary art and cultural storytelling.

Extending the Experience from Hôtel FABRIC

A stay at Hôtel FABRIC offers the perfect base from which to explore Paris’s cultural highlights. After an immersive visit to the Grand Palais, return to the calm and comfort of our hotel in the heart of the 11th arrondissement, and continue the experience at your own pace.

In February, love is also found in museums — and All About Love makes a powerful case for it. The exhibition remains open until April 2026, making it an ideal addition to any upcoming Parisian escape.

Until 5 April 2026. Tuesday to Sunday, 10am - 7.30pm. Late opening on Fridays until 10pm