Louis Vuitton to present works by Ernest Pignon-Ernest in Venice

Breaking the convention, Louis Vuitton will abstain from participating in Milan Design Week, scheduled for April 16-21. Instead, the luxury brand under the LVMH umbrella has chosen to refocus its attention on another major cultural event, the 60th International Art Exhibition. – Venice Biennale, scheduled for April 17-19, curating an exhibition in Venice dedicated exclusively to the French artist Ernest Pignon-Ernest.

Titled 'Je est un autre' (I am another), the exhibition, curated by Suzanne Pagé and Hans Ulrich Obrist in collaboration with Dominique González-Foerster, is already prepared to be one of the most anticipated parallel events of the Biennale. It will take place at the Espace Louis Vuitton Venezia, located near the emblematic St. Mark's Square, from April 20 to November 24. This initiative is part of the 'Hors-les murs' program, a series of initiatives carried out by Louis Vuitton. Foundation in its various spaces in Tokyo, Munich, Beijing, Seoul and Osaka.

The Foundation has invited esteemed visual artist Ernest Pignon-Ernest to create a custom exhibition tailored to its Venetian space, centered on the profound theme of “the foreigner,” a motif deeply appreciated by this pioneering figure in urban art renowned for his politics. and social commitment and his large-scale screen prints that adorn public spaces.

From sketches and drawings to stencils and collages, the artist meticulously places his images, often life-size portraits of poets or marginalized people such as immigrants and homeless people, on the walls of iconic locations that resonate with the themes he explores. These portraits, including those of Arthur Rimbaud, Antonin Artaud, Jean Genet and Pier Paolo Pasolini, presented through evocative photographs, constitute the very essence of this exhibition, further enriched by the inclusion of two new faces, those of the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. and Forough Farrokhzad of Iran.