Céleste Richard‑Zimmermann: at the Palais de Tokyo, broken columns to question the monuments

Power is also written in stone. With Not All Columns Have a Heart of Stone, Céleste Richard-Zimmermann gives the Palais de Tokyo, in Paris, the appearance of an abandoned stone quarry, from October 21, 2026 to January 10, 2027. The exhibition pairs sculptures, bas-reliefs, paintings and sound creation to question the narratives carried by monuments. The artist examines how these buildings embody authority, and then what they become when that authority is challenged.

A large broken column, missing its summit and hollow, frames the route at the Palais de Tokyo. This familiar form of official architecture becomes the platform for reflection on destruction and transformation. Céleste Richard-Zimmermann is particularly focused on revolutionary destructions and on how the symbols of struggles can later be reclaimed.

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Materials heighten the unease. Stone, plaster, copper and polystyrene comprise a sequence where appearances cry out to be checked. One material can imitate another, and what looks massive can surprise you. The artist reuses motifs from official statuary, shifting them and changing the way we interpret them.

The exhibition route also highlights less formal signs: graffiti, fabrication marks, and traces of alteration. These details reveal alternative uses and new stories surrounding the architectures of power. Winner of the Friends of the Palais de Tokyo Prize, Céleste Richard-Zimmermann presents here a project conceived with curator Horya Makhlouf, in collaboration with the CEAAC in Strasbourg, where the show is slated for 2027.

On your next stroll, why not view a monument from its edges? An added inscription, a repair, or a missing piece can reveal an interpretation the official pedestal hadn’t anticipated.

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