Monnaie de Paris reopens with Paul McCarthy’s Chocolate Factory

On the occasion of its reopening, Monnaie de Paris presents Chocolate Factory, an exhibition by Paul McCarthy.

On view from October 25, 2014 to January 4, 2015, Chocolate Factory will be installed in the newly renovated exhibition spaces at Monnaie de Paris, marking the beginning of a new phase of contemporary art programs curated by Chiara Parisi, the Director of Cultural Programs.

Paul McCarthy (b. 1945, Salt Lake City, USA), a central figure in the international contemporary art world and an inspiration for generations of artists, brings the energy and endless reinvention of the city of Los Angeles to his first major solo exhibition in a Paris institution. First realized seven years ago in New York City, this reinstallation of Chocolate Factory in Paris will build upon its previous installation, using the shift in context from the white cube and austere setting of the Maccarone gallery to the ornate and Baroque Salle Guillaume Dupré to transform and evolve the project.The chocolate figurines produced inside the exhibition are inspired by the mythical character of Santa Claus and his emblem, the Christmas tree. Here, McCarthy recreates a full production line, the very mechanisms of representation, production and sale for consumption. The visitor observes workers/performers engaged in the production of chocolate figurines accumulating in abundance. These ephemeral objects are churned out in an absurd performance in pursuit of a non-viable economy. Within the walls of the oldest Parisian factory, Chocolate Factory expresses a will of mise en abîme, questioning the notion of seriality in the very building where coins are minted in the dozens and hundreds of millions.

Unlimited, edible and perishable, these figurines are sold at the front desk and bookstore. With each day, the Chocolate Factory grows as a sculpture, creating logistic problems, storage problems, and ultimately affecting its ability to function.In the adjoining 18th-century rooms, Paul McCarthy‘s exhibition continues with a site-specific video work, inviting the viewer to enter into a dreamscape that turns reality into a world of absurdity.

The work’s repeating images mine the subconscious and our repression of taboo associations, ideas and thoughts. A place of unconsciousness, of self absence, it is a counterpoint to the frantic pace of the factory. One’s immersion into these spaces evokes a place between waking and sleeping.