I saw: Jenny Holzer's luminous exhibit that makes words come alive at the Musée d'Orsay this fall.

Words Take Over the Orsay Museum, Transforming the Space into a Luminous Stage. From October 20, 2026, to February 21, 2027, the exhibition "I Have Seen" by Jenny Holzer invites visitors to explore a dialogue between letters, political texts, and literary writings alongside the museum's iconic collections. Through projections, LED installations, and engravings, the exhibit immerses visitors in a captivating experience where past and present resonate anew, offering a fresh perspective.

At the Musée d’Orsay, artworks no longer just invite viewers to look—they're meant to be read, illuminated, and etched into the retina. From October 20, 2026, to February 21, 2027, the exhibition I Saw by Jenny Holzer transforms the iconic train station into a luminous manifesto. An exhibition where words take center stage, letter by letter.

As a leading artist of our time, Jenny Holzer has long centered words at the heart of her socially engaged practice. For this project, created in collaboration with the Musée d’Orsay, she draws from the institution’s collections and archives: letters from artists, literary and political writings from the period 1848-1914. Selected fragments are projected, engraved, and displayed—moving fluidly between the past and the present.

The first impact of the exhibition unfolds out in the open. The historic façade of the museum, facing the Seine, comes alive with light projections on several evenings surrounding the October opening. The illuminated text transforms the architecture, creating an immersive experience for passersby—almost suspended in time.

Inside, a massive LED installation, custom-designed to fill the space, cuts across the exhibition hall. Streams of colorful words guide visitors, echoing the original flow of the 19th-century train station that has been transformed into a museum. In the dome-shaped rooms, this piece interacts with Holzer’s paintings—created using gold leaf, platinum, and palladium—featuring shifting surfaces that are only partially revealed, hinting at traces of tough choices made along the way, mirroring the grandeur of neighboring historical paintings.

The experience is also complemented by a different kind of storytelling. Stone benches, painted in unusual hues and engraved with texts from the era, are scattered throughout the ground floor and galleries, echoing the architecture designed by Gae Aulenti.

Created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Musée d’Orsay, J’ai vu explores the seamless connection between past and present. It offers a resonant dialogue between the museum’s collections and the perspective of an American artist. An exhibition to read between the lines… and to experience in full light.

I saw: Jenny Holzer’s luminous exhibition that makes words come alive at the Orsay Museum this fall

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