The Pompidou’s Traveling Art Circus

Chaumont-sur-Marne, a town of 30,000 in eastern France, is the first stop of the new Pompidou Mobile, a traveling gallery of modern and contemporary art conceived by Alain Seban, current director of the Pompidou Center in Paris.

Curator Emma Lavigne was chosen to put together “La Couleur,” the Pompidou Mobile’s first show, which opened in Chaumont in mid-October and runs there until 15 January. Inside the traveling exhibition’s tents are 14 masterpieces from the Paris museum’s permanent collection. Artists include modern masters — Matisse, Picasso, Braque, Léger, Alexander Calder, and Niki de Saint Phalle — and a sprinkling of contemporary artists including Olafur Eliasson and Bruce Nauman. Entrance to the museum is free, a rarity in France. The museum will next set up camp on its tour of France early next year in Cambrai, then heads to Boulogne-sur-Mer in May. Read more.