First International Show: Louvre, Paris+ Art Basel

In October 23, I traveled to Paris for my first international exhibition: a group show at the Louvre during Paris+ Art Basel. I was invited by a Canadian gallery that called my work "truly unique and beautiful."

At the time, I was reading The Audacity to Be Queen, a book recommended by my friend and mentor, Ekaterina Popova. One chapter reminded me not to shrink from life’s richness. Inspired, I searched carefully and found a perfect hotel among the art galleries of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, across the river from the Louvre. I booked a room at Hôtel de Buci. The wallpaper was patterned in pink birds.

Regrettably, I did not buy this pink fur hat. Mistakes were made.

When I was thirteen, my mother and I had visited Paris together. She had once pointed at an attic studio and said, “Jodee, you should paint there.”

I was my painting’s date, so naturally i had to match her outfit.

For the opening, I wore a satin skirt from MUSA mode Gothenburg: ostriches as showgirls and top-hatted drunkards, like a Moulin Rouge for birds. Italian shoes bought in Miami, and an Alexander McQueen top from Manhattan. All colors and patterns flowing with my exhibited painting: Triple-Headed Bass Goddess, a glittering mixed-media work on linen.

Between events, I sketched in the rain in Parisian cemeteries, sheltering inside mausoleums, feeding the crows. I wandered the gardens of Versailles in stripes a la DuBarry. I shopped for children's books in tiny bookstores, and visited so many galleries.

DuBarry was a Lady who walked around the gardens of Versaille in a striped dress made from curtians - setting a new trend!

At Paris+ I stood stunned before Tracey Emin’s fierce, raw painting at the White Cube booth: "How the fuck do you think I feel," it read, the brushstrokes outrageous and electricfied. At Laurence Esnol Gallery, I was impressed by Tess McMillan’s vibrant portraits of women, many had already sold.

The painting in the window sold for 30,000€

I ate croissants and drank lattes. I toasted small victories with Aperol spritzes and cantaloupe with prosciutto.

Some pieces that travelled all the way from Brazil!

The most absurd moment came at the airport: after checking in my painting as oversized baggage, I watched in horror as the packaged painting was going back inside the carousel about to vanish again. I ran over to the belt and cried, "POP-SPECS!" — just like the scene from Absolutely Fabulous.

Three well-dressed ladies at Paris+

A girl’s dream became a memory and then a young woman’s new beginning.

Mass in France was a treat, and the censors were strong.