“One says a love movie, one says a love story; one should be able to say a love painter.” This wonderful observation of Annette Messager’s is already quite old, but it takes on new life when applied to the artist’s recent work. It is, in fact, love, the words of love and the body of love—or perhaps love of the body—that today are at the heart of Messager’s art. Such is one of the conclusions made explicit in the artist’s recent exhibitions, especially at this very important showing of her work.

While the “Chimères” (Chimeras), shown by the artist at the beginning of 1984, revealed a rather