The first clue to "Elles", the new female focused show at Centre Pompidou, is the wall of badges - yellow, purple, green, white and pink - at the entrance to the permanent collection.

At first glance, the names on the badges reinforce the museum’s best known artists. Then, a double take: it’s Louis Bourgeois, not Louise; Josephine Beuys, not Joseph; Francine Picabia, Francine Bacon, Miss van der Rohe.

This spacious and provocative opening by French artist Agnès Thurnauer hints at the size and fervor of the show. "Elles" features 500 works by 200 women artists, all taken from the museum’s collection.

Seven sections contain painting, sculpture, decorative art, video, and installations. The works range from mainstream (Suzanne Valadon’s “La Chambre Bleue,” and furniture by Janette Laverrière) to abstract (paintings by Agnes Martin) to feminist perspectives (Niki de Saint Phalle’s “Bride” and “Crucifixion”).

Quotes by women artists punctuate the show, guiding the viewer among the sections and into the minds of artists and writers. Some supply both image and commentary. My favorite is the Guerilla Girls’ installation showing an odalisque with the head of a guerilla.

The text: Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum? Less than 3% of the artists in the modern art sections are women, but 83% of the nudes are female.

If you go...

Centre Pompidou, Place Georges Pompidou, 75004, Métro: Rambuteau

Open W-M, 11am-10pm, Th until 11

On the web: click here