PARIS—Axel Vervoordt, the celebrated Antwerp, Belgium–based dealer, decorator and art collector, has curated “Academia, qui es-tu?”—taking place from September 10 through November 23 in the chapel (seldom open to the public) of France’s famous École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. In “Academia,” Vervoordt exploits the École’s unique setting to explore the nature of today’s art establishment, selecting work that widely ranges not only in the materials employed but also in location and time of composition. He juxtaposes contributions from the Tokyo-born Hiroshi Sugimoto, China’s Cai Guo-Qiang, the Indian-born Anish Kapoor and the French photographer Christian Boltanski with such venerable works as a silver-pencil drawing of the French king Henri IV attributed to the Flemish painter Frans Pourbus the Younger (1570–1622), thought to have been done from life. Whether seen as a philosophical inquiry or a selling exhibition—or both—the show is stimulating and tempting.

"Back to School" originally appeared in the September 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's September 2008 Table of Contents.