Instagram story viewer> @unlockparis> Posts

Kim Laidlaw

@unlockparis

15.9K

followers

2108

following

Kim | Unlock Paris™
Arbiter of good taste in Paris since 2002.
Curated culture, art & lifestyle for discerning explorers.
Founder @unlocktheagency

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

This church in the centre of Paris is remarkable not just for its grand dimensions, its mix of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, and the fact it houses France’s largest pipe organ, but also for its rich array of art – including several contemporary works (one of which is a Keith Haring altarpiece) and a rather stunning Rubens.

🏴Église Saint Eustache, rue du Jour, 75001 Paris taken in Eglise Saint-Eustache by @unlockparis

2k

72

2 months ago

Open to the public since 2025, the house and studio of Jean Lurçat (1892-1966) is a listed historic monument— an impressive example of Modernist architecture filled with pieces made by the artist.

It was in 1925 that Lurçat moved to this part of the 14th arrondissement, a quieter and more affordable neighbourhood than the heart of Montparnasse, the famed hub of artist activity in the early 20th century.

The building was designed by the artist’s brother, architect André Lurçat, and was the first of eight houses he built on the mews that would become a community of creatives (sculptor Channa Orloff’s studio is just opposite).

Today you can visit the house not only to admire the architecture and the decor — complete with original and custom-made furniture — but also the works of Jean Lurçat across several media, notably tapestry, ceramics and painting.

Visits are by guided tour only, every Friday and Saturday, to be booked in advance on www.maisonatelierlurcat.fr

Maison Atelier Lurçat
4 Villa Seurat
76014 Paris

#maisonatelierlurçat #jeanlurcat #modernistarchitecture #unlockparis #paris taken in Villa Seurat by @unlockparis

3k

86

4 months ago

From Montparnasse to Montsouris, the 14th arrondissement is a historic hub of creativity. The likes of De Beauvoir, Sartre and Giacometti — amongst countless other writers, thinkers and artists — made this part of Paris their home and place of work.

This entirely subjective guide features art, architecture, food, drink and a marvellous boutique hotel. It omits the Michelin-starred @mosuke.restaurant by top chef Mori Sako as, try as I might, I’ve never scored a ressie there… so that’s somewhere to put on your radar in the area, too (although that’s not going to help my chances of getting a table).

Let me know if I’ve missed your favourite place in the 14th (but if it’s the catacombs I’ll just have take your word for it… not my idea of fun).

#montparnasse #lecorbusier #simonedebeauvoir #sartre #jeanlurçat taken in Paris 14eme by @unlockparis

5k

99

4 months ago

Art Basel comes to Paris next week, and the capital is already warming up for it with this public installation by Tracey Emin at the Parvis des Droits-de-l’Homme with a stunning backdrop of the Eiffel Tower on the horizon.

The three monumental bronze figures explore the transition of a female body from surrender to resilience.

I lay here for you depicts a prone body, elongated along the ground, suggesting a certain vulnerabilty or lassitude, contrasting with the erect and upright Eiffel Tower behind it.

I Followed You to the End sees a form on its knees, perhaps in submission or perhaps as an invitation, seemingly about to rise, to echo the form of the phallic tower to which it seems to bow down.

And finally, I will Not Be Alone, shows a smaller yet more steadfast figure seated on a rock, embodying strength and endurance.

🏴Tracey Emin
Parvis des Droits-de-l’Homme, 75016 Paris
Until 1st November 2026

#artbasel #parisart #unlockparis #parisnow #traceyemin taken in Trocadero - Eiffel Tower - Paris by @unlockparis

39

7

5 hours ago

The smaller the museum, the longer you dwell. All the more so if there is a garden and a cafe…

A guide to some of the most delectable small museums in Paris, from artists’ former studios to a specialist academic collection. Save for inspiration for your next cultural perambulations.

#parismuseums #parisculture #unlockparis #parisart #parisguide taken in Paris, France by @unlockparis

2k

26

2 days ago

REMEMBER ME—A four-part exhibition at @boursedecommerce on the occasion of the bicentenary of photography, with a site-specific installation by Barbara Kruger filling the rotunda, monographic sections on Irving Penn and Raymond Depardon and a collective display of works by Wolfgang Tillmans, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Dorothea Lange, Cindy Sherman, Zanele Muholi and more.

Curated by @matthieuhumery

🏴REMEMBER ME
Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection
2 rue de Viarmes 75001 Paris
Until 10th Jan 2027

#parisnow#parisart#parisexhibition#weekendinparis#parisculture taken in Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection by @unlockparis

3

8

8 days ago

Starting out at London’s Royal Academy and then touring to the Kunsthaus in Zurich, this immense retrospective on Kerry James Marshall has now arrived at the @museedartmodernedeparis

The first major exhibition on the American artist’s work in France, it features 70 works by Marshall, who is considered one of the most influential contemporary painters and is known for his large-scale compositions centering Black people.

Titled The Histories, the exhibition has three major strands.

Firstly, the history of art and its most noble of genres, history painting, as Marshall references iconic pieces in the canon by the likes of Courbet, Manet, David etc.

Secondly, Black American history, as Marshall addresses themes such as the Middle Passage and the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.

And thirdly, to a more subtle extent, Marshall’s own history, as the work is displayed in a chronological-thematic arrangement, and we see the different cities in which he has lived throughout his life - particilarly Birmingham, Alabama where he was born.

The exhibition concludes with a new series of works exploring lesser acknowledged episodes of African history.

An extensive exhibition for an immense body of work by a living legend in the history of art.

Curated by @markgodfrey1973

Kerry James Marshall - The Histories
🏴Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris
11 Avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris
Until 24th January 2027 taken in Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris by @unlockparis

1k

46

a month ago

Taking Monet’s Water Lilies as its point of departure, this extensive exhibition spans the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries to explore the genre of landscape painting in modern and contemporary art.

We see how landscape has evolved, reflecting history, conflict, disasters and climate change - and entering into dialogue with abstraction - rather than solely striving to represent reality.

On show are some hundred works in a variety of media from painting to sculpture, photography and drawing, by artists including Munch, Mondrian, Anna-Eva Bergman, Hans Hartung, Hammershoi and Hockney.

LANDSCAPE STORIES
FROM MONET TO HOCKNEY
(1893-2026)
until 31st Jan 2027

Curated by Pierre Wat

Musée Marmottan Monet
2 rue Louis-Boilly 75016 Paris
Open Tues-Sun 10am-6pm
14€ full price / 9€ reduced rate / free for certain categories taken in Musée Marmottan Monet by @unlockparis

3

8

12 days ago

Coinciding with Paris Fashion Week, a retrospective on legendary fashion photographer Irving Penn opened today at the @mep.paris

Exploring a career spanning six decades, the exhibition traces the evolution of Penn’s work, including his collaborations with Vogue and images of haute couture for Dior and Balenciaga.

We also see Penn’s long standing collaboration with Issey Miyake, portraits or prominent figues and his luscious beauty images.

PENN & FASHION
30.09.26 - 17.01.27
🏴Maison Européenne de la Photographie
5/7 rue de Fourcy
75004 Paris

#irvingpenn#pfw#parisart#parisexhibition#parisfashion taken in Maison Européenne de la Photographie by @unlockparis

3

3

16 days ago

3

3

10 days ago

Some things from September

The metro journey with a view

Indian summer nights

Lunch at the chic rive gauche Italian restaurant for those in the know

The Pope rides through Paris in the pope mobile

Fashion week has begun

Ramen at @toy__paris

Monday morning meeting at @restaurantletrainbleu

Grey day, grey day.

Palais Galliera

Great Scott! The Eiffel Tower is fading away

An exhibition of @lucienmurat’s work at @institut.pasteur for the European Heritage Days

And my whole visit to @institut.pasteur was absolutely enthralling — patient and pedagogical scientists explained all kinds of fascinating stuff to a curious public. My tiny mind was blown.

@le_doyennerestaurant_ came to town for one day only, selling produce from their farm plus pastries and bread at @orson.paris

More delights from the European Heritage Days - here: the chapel at Ecole Militaire

… and the library at Ecole Militaire

Sunbeams at the Polish Embassy

Sunbeams at the Romanian Embassy

Rocking some blue plastic shoe covers taken in Paris, France by @unlockparis

121

10

15 days ago

How did women appropriate men’s dress in the 19th century? And how did the adoption of masculine fashion codes reflect women’s societal transformation and challenge gender binaries?

These are the questions the new exhibition, Un Vestiaire à Soi, at Paris’s fashion museum, @palaisgallieramuseedelamode, poses. And while they may pertain to a moment at a certain chronological distance from us, the socio-cultural exploration at hand remains relevant today: what role does fashion play in the transformation of social roles and identities?

On display, among some 500 pieces, are outfits worn for horse-riding, skating and cycling, tailored suits, cravats and even top hats with integrated monocles. And—displayed to the public for the first time—is Rosa Bonheur’s entire wardrobe, featuring an array of rather natty jackets and her artist’s smock (photos 1, 6, 11).

Alongside Bonheur, we see other key female historical figures including Marie Antoinette,
Natalie Clifford Barney and George Sand, aswell as unknown figures through photography.

Curated by @marinekisiel

UN VESTIAIRE À SOI. FÉMINITÉS DISSIDENTES AU 19E SIÈCLE
Until 14th Feb 2027

🏴Palais Galliera
10 av. Pierre 1er de Serbie 75116 Paris
Open: Tuesday to Sunday 10am-6pm (9pm on Fri)
Tickets: 14€ (full rate), 12€ (reduced rate), free for under 18s

#parisfashion#parisculture#parisexhibition#parisnowrosabonheur taken in Palais Galliera - Musée De La Mode by @unlockparis

125

1

19 days ago