Grenoble, un modernisme olympique

Grenoble, un modernisme olympique – This documentary and photographic project by Lionel Catelan looks at the sudden transformation of Grenoble, which underwent a veritable architectural and artistic ‘shake-up’ on the occasion of the 1968 Winter Olympics. With its unprecedented artistic ambitions, including the organisation of the first French sculpture symposium bringing together more than twenty international sculptors, this upheaval reflected the city’s desire to confront artists and the public with the architecture and urban development that accompanied the Games. As Paris prepares to host the next Summer Olympics in 2024, this book sheds new light on the implementation of an unprecedented modernist architectural vision, seeking to integrate art into architecture in all its forms (sculpture, painting, mosaics, etc.). It also questions the paradox of the ephemeral and the perennial in past and future urban strategies, and the immaculate myth of urban renewal.

With a text by Tony Côme and the publishing support of the Centre national des arts plastiques.