Brion Gysin, the last museum: the original retrospective exhibition at the Paris Museum of Modern Art

The Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris is staging the first Paris-based retrospective devoted to the artist Brion Gysin. On view from April 10 to July 12, 2026.

Are you familiar with Brion Gysin? Born in 1916 in Britain and passing away in Paris in 1986, this multi-talented artist captivated the avant-garde cultural and intellectual circles while establishing his distinctive style. The Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris is hosting an exhibition—its first retrospective in Paris dedicated to this now largely overlooked artist.

From April 10 to July 12, 2026, the exhibition Brion Gysin, the Last Museum will showcase over 140 works by the renowned British artist. Visitors can explore a diverse collection including photographs and photomontages, drawings, paintings, calligraphy-inspired pieces, and the inventive Cut-up techniques, not to mention the immersive artistic experience of the Dreamachine.

Brion Gysin was indeed an innovator. Breaking away from traditional methods and the artistic norms of his time, he sought to revolutionize the creative process by blending different techniques and media, pushing the boundaries of artistic language. Painter, poet, performer, musician, photographer — every new skill he acquired became an opportunity to forge unique and unexpected connections.

The exhibition explores the many facets of this artist and traces the key moments of his career. Visitors will uncover his fascination with dreams and surrealism, the journeys that inspired his imagination, the magic games and performances that left his peers in awe, as well as his relationship with reality and the world around him...

To round out this journey, the Modern Art Museum showcases a selection of works by contemporary artists, many of whom influenced Brion Gysin: Patti Smith, John Giorno, Keith Haring, William Burroughs, Françoise Janicot, Bernard Heidsieck, and Victor Hugo...

This exhibition highlights two groundbreaking projects that defined Brion Gysin’s career: the Cut-up technique and the Dreamachine. Building on the legacy of Surrealism, the artist experiments with language, mixing phrases to generate spontaneous poems. Gysin also explores light and patterns through the invention of the Dreamachine, a spinning cylinder designed to relax and soothe viewers.

As visitors follow the route, they encounter an artist who thrives on experimentation and blending different art forms. The results are sometimes provocative, often vividly colorful. At the end of the exhibition, you can see several works inspired by the construction of the Centre Pompidou, an unexpected nod to Paris in the portfolio of this American-Canadian creator.

This unclassifiable artist can charm as much as he can confound. The exhibition, compact in scale but richly stocked, offers a compelling doorway into Brion Gysin and his underground circle—for those who know how to keep an open mind.

Come explore the work of this unconventional artist at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, starting in spring 2026.

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