Soup/No Soup, Rirkrit Tiravanija
April 7th 2012, from noon to midnight
free access
As a prelude to the opening of La Triennale 2012, Rirkrit Tiravanija has been invited to transform the main nave of Grand Palais into a formidably festive, large-scale, twelve-hour banquet composed of a single meal of Tom Ka soup. From noon until midnight, the Grand Palais will be open to the public, to share and sample a soup prepared and offered by the artist and his team. Generous yet modest, collective yet singular, Soup/No Soup convenes a summoning of all, where each and everyone will be able to enjoy an immaterial artistic experience based on encounter, and generosity.
By creating and recreating micro-communities the artist draws all the artistic energy from the bonds and relationships that are formed between the participants in his projects. From being a passive spectator, the visitor becomes a player in a developing work. Based on otherness, nomadism, and the displacement of signs and contexts, the work of Rirkrit Tiravanija is more often than not composed of meeting points and points of communication and exchange. Seeking to abolish the frontier between art and life, the artist constantly challenges the expectations, status and form of the work of art. The original, protean, unclassifiable artistic output of this cosmopolitan artist has been acclaimed on the international scene for around 20 years. Having long ago renewed the codes of the exhibition and of space, Rirkrit Tiravanija has rendered the dichotomy between installation, sculpture and performance obsolete. With Soup/No Soup, La Triennale declares right away its desire to federate all its energies round an ambitious artistic project that is open to all.
Each year the Réunion des musées nationaux - Grand Palais presents around 40 very diverse cultural events in Paris, the regions and on the international scene. The Grand Palais, one of the favorite monuments of the French people, is its prestigious showcase at the very heart of Paris. Jean-Paul Cluzel is the President of the Réunion des musées nationaux - Grand Palais.
Soup/No Soup enjoys the support of The Absolut Company
and the participation of Emmaüs Solidarité résidents. 
In 2010, Rirkrit Tiravanija was the laureate of the prize granted by The Absolut Company.
