The Art World Reacts to Nice Attacks on Instagram

Condolences flood in from around the art world.

People take pictures to French flags flying at half mast on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France. Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images

France is left reeling following a third major terror attack in only 19 months. On Bastille Day, France’s national holiday, a radicalized 31-year-old Tunisian man drove a truck into a crowd of revelers watching a fireworks display along the famous seaside boulevard of Promenade des Anglais, in Nice, in southern France.

While prosecutor Françoise Molins said that no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, he conceded that it bore all the hallmarks of jihadist terrorism, the BBC reported.

The assault claimed at least 84 lives and has injured over 200 others. As the world comes to terms with the most recent atrocity against civilians, several key figures from the French art scene, and from further afield have taken to social media to offer their condolences, or to express their disbelief at the latest tragedy.

The Louvre, the famed Paris museum, posted this picture on its Instagram account. The hashtags say “we are united,” “all united against hatred.”

Meanwhile Paris dealer Kamel Mennour posted a black image on his Instagram account to pay his respects to the victims of the attacks.

New York dealer Lisa Cooley posted a picture on Instagram urging the world to love one another, in response to the attacks in Nice.

New York’s Pace Gallery posted an image of three variations of James Turrell’s light-based artwork Afrum (1966-69) in the colors of the “Tricolor,” France’s flag and the nation’s national colors.

The Luxembourg-based Galerie Bernard Ceysson posted an older image of the scene of the atrocity featuring an artwork by the French artist Noël Dolla.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH4uPryjnPf/?taken-by=caseykaplangallery

New York’s Casey Kaplan Gallery uploaded a picture of Henri Matisse’s depiction of Nice’s beachside promenade, the site of the attack.

Gigiotto del Vecchio owner and director of Berlin gallery Supportico Lopez expressed his disbelief in a poignant post on the gallery’s Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH4lsrej4CD/?taken-by=koenig_clinton

Koenig & Clinton gallery of New York expressed their sadness and condolences to the families of the Victims of the attacks in Nice.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH4IZZKgmui/?taken-by=richardtaittingergallery

French owned New York City based gallery Richard Taittinger Gallery posted an image of Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower in the manner of a peace sign.

Curator Klaus Biesenbach uploaded an image of a painting of a bustling French boulevard, and cited France’s national motto, “liberty, equality, fraternity.”


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