Michel Houellebecq, the controversial, award-winning French author of novels including Atomised and Platform, will present a show of his works of art at the Palais de Tokyo contemporary art centre in Paris next year. Until now, it was not widely known that Houellebecq—whose fifth novel, The Map and the Territory, had a successful artist as a central character—made works of art himself. “The exhibition is due to launch next June. Jean de Loisy, the president of the Palais de Tokyo, is the curator. “This is the first significant solo show of [works by] Houellebecq, covering 1,000 square metres of the gallery,” says a spokeswoman for the centre. She declined to comment on the nature of the works. Houellebecq’s latest novel, Submission, envisages France ruled by a Muslim president in 2022; in January, a cartoon of the writer dressed as a wizard—declaring the words “In 2022, I’m observing Ramadan”—appeared on the cover of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The same week, two gunmen murdered 12 people in Charlie Hebdo’s office in a terrorist attack.
UPDATE 27 August: The exhibition dedicated to Houellebecq, entitled Rester Vivant (Staying Alive), is due to take place from 23 June to 12 September next year. According to Agence France-Presse, Jean de Loisy said yesterday at a press conference that this “is not a show about Houellebecq. It’s an exhibition devised by the writer, which will include [his] photographs, installations and films, along with commissions by other artists such as Iggy Pop and Robert Combas.” The director of the Palais de Tokyo added: “This will be the world according to Houellebecq; visitors will move from room to room and a novel will begin to form in your imagination through images and sounds.”