With MAGMA No. 3 — Archive of the Future, the multidisciplinary platform MAGMA turns its latest publication into an exhibition that asks visitors to slow down. Conceived in collaboration with the Paris-based studio Matière Noire, the project transforms 127 rue de Turenne into a space where their pages are reimagined as rooms to walk through. The result is a curatorial experiment that favours contemplation over speed, inviting the audience to spend time with each work rather than consume it in passing.
The exhibition presents a collection of works that span mediums and generations. Among the most striking pieces are Guillotine (1971) by Michel Journiac, a monumental work that recalls performance, sacrifice and political theatre, and a mirror painting by Michelangelo Pistoletto, which implicates viewers in its reflection and in the exhibition’s larger meditation on presence and perception. Additionally, a series of unpublished Polaroids by Jonas Mekas, shown with drawings by Yoko Ono and John Lennon, provide a tender glimpse into the private world of 20th-century avant-garde figures.
Jonathan Glazer’s short film Strasbourg 1518 makes its first public appearance here, accompanied by Mica Levi’s percussive score and performed by dancers from Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal. Together, film and sound work transform part of the gallery into an immersive environment. The inclusion of Jean-Luc Godard’s Opération Béton (1954) creates a dialogue across eras, linking the beginnings of the modern moving image to its current reimagining in contemporary art contexts.
Elsewhere, Elizabeth Peyton’s two recent portraits bring a note of intimacy, while Pol Taburet’s sculptural triptych explores transformation through texture and material. Jill Mulleady’s works, made in homage to Lautréamont’s hermaphrodite, continue this thread, expanding the exhibition’s recurring interest in duality and change.
What unites these works is their shared attention to time. The exhibition’s slow pacing and quiet atmosphere resist the speed of digital culture. Rather than presenting art as a series of visual hits, Archive of the Future creates a space for sustained attention.
Throughout its month-long run, the show will host readings, screenings and performances, extending the exhibition’s energy beyond its static display. Supported by Bottega Veneta, MAGMA No. 3 — Archive of the Future stands as a thoughtful, elegantly staged experiment in deceleration and presence.
MAGMA No. 3 — Archive of the Future runs from 20 October to 19 November 2025 at 127 rue de Turenne, Paris 3rd arrondissement.
