'Dessins sans limite' at the Grand Palais: A Reimagination of the Graphic Medium
Paris, France
06 January 2026
From 16 December 2025 to 15 March 2026, the Grand Palais in Paris hosts 'Dessins sans limite' (Drawings Without Limit), a major exhibition showcasing the breadth and innovation of drawing as an artistic practice. Co-produced by the Centre Pompidou and Grand Palais RMN, this presentation reveals the astonishing richness of the Centre Pompidou’s Cabinet d’art graphique—one of the world’s most extensive collections of works on paper from the 20th and 21st centuries.
With over 35,000 drawings in its holdings, the Centre Pompidou’s graphic arts collection has never before been presented on such a scale. ‘Dessins sans limite’ brings together approximately 300 works by 120 artists, offering visitors an opportunity to engage with the diversity of the medium, from traditional sketches to expanded forms that defy conventional boundaries.
The exhibition challenges the typical notion of drawing as confined to paper and pencil. Instead, it positions drawing as a fluid and expansive practice that intersects with installation, performance, photography, film and digital art. This conceptual breadth reflects how artists have continually pushed the medium beyond its historical limits, making it a site of experimentation, narrative and gesture.
Rather than presenting a chronological history, the curatorial structure is organised around four thematic sequences—étudier (to study), raconter (to tell), tracer (to trace) and animer (to animate)—allowing works to resonate with one another across time and style. These sequences invite a sensory and associative experience: drawings are positioned to echo, challenge and inform each other through a dynamic, non-linear narrative.
Highlights include rarely exhibited works by influential artists such as Jean Dubuffet, Karel Appel, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marc Chagall, Willem de Kooning, Raoul Dufy, Sam Francis, Joan Miró, Antonio Saura, Antoni Tàpies and Zao Wou-ki, among others. The selection underscores drawing’s continued relevance and vitality, as both a foundational artistic discipline and a medium continually redefined by contemporary practice.
