SUMMER SHOTS: Group show, Paris

You open your eyes: 5:14 AM on the hotel alarm clock.

Last night, between the airport and your bed:

the taxi's headlights on the large green signs,
silhouettes of mountains,
silhouettes of houses,
shadows of palm trees.

Now it’s impossible to fall back asleep.
You get dressed, you go out.

The roofs are low in the neighborhood. The climate is gentle with you.
The scenery became clearer during the night. Geometric villas emerge from the dense hills, like kinds of pastel rectangles tangled in the curves of the green ridges.
The pedestrian light invites you to cross.
You take GRIFFITH-PARK AVE. and leave the cars behind you.

A staircase surrounded by vines,
you climb.
A jasmine bush on either side,
you understand why butterflies love this.

CLAYTON AVE. climbs to your left, MAYVIEW DR. descends right in front of you,
you climb.
The scent of honey.

Between the road and you, in succession as you walk:
an agave,
two cacti,
a bed of succulents,
a palm tree,
two agaves.

To the right: RADIO ST. climbs a little further.

At each landing, its front yard:
on the 7m² of earth separating a house from a sidewalk, a banana tree, a palm tree, and a lemon tree stretch out.
At their feet, a clever arrangement of Adonis, Periwinkles, and Chamomiles.
Or Lilac Saffron.

Arriving at the end of the street, you understand the yellow diamond-shaped DEAD END that you had chosen to ignore.
You’ve reached the top of the hill.
It will be 7 o'clock. The cafés below will open. You’re starting to feel hungry.
You think that summer is starting off well.

Paul Gonzalez - Beaux-Arts de Paris

SUMMER SHOTS
Group Exhibition
June 29 - August 31, 2023

PARIS
7bis rue des Saints-Pères
75006 Paris