Leading female artists to celebrate 250 years of Veuve Clicquot in LA show
Opening on 26 October in Los Angeles, a new Veuve Clicquot exhibition will see contemporary female artists – including Yayoi Kusama, Sheila Hicks and Tacita Dean – respond to the champagne house’s free-spirited history
When Madame Clicquot Ponsardin first took the reins of Veuve Clicquot in 1805, the so-called ‘Grande Dame of Champagne’ became one of the first female business leaders of the modern era.
Since then, the renowned champagne house has continued to model itself on the innovative, free-spirited sensibilities of Madame Clicquot, notably through Bold by Veuve Clicquot, an international programme which seeks to bolster the visibility of female entrepreneurs.
Opening on 26 October 2022 in Los Angeles, the travelling exhibition ‘Solaire Culture’ will make its US debut featuring commissioned work by leading contemporary female artists that have responded to the heritage, accompanied by a selection of archival objects from Veuve Clicquot’s collection.
For the show, which forms part of the Veuve Clicquot’s 250th anniversary celebrations (which have also included a jaunt on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express), French curator Camille Morineau united ten trailblazing female artists for the first time: Yayoi Kusama, Sheila Hicks, Tacita Dean, Inès Longevial, Cece Philips, Rosie McGuinness, Olimpia Zagnoli, Pénélope Bagieu, Moyoco Anno and Monique Frydman, with scenography by Constance Guisset. The artists were given carte blanche for an original artwork inspired by the innovations of Madame Clicquot, which revolutionised the world of champagne, or the emotional force of the sun, a nod to the house’s Solaire yellow, which was copyrighted in 1877.
Among the works are Kusama’s striking, polka-dotted reinterpretation of a portrait of Madame Clicquot and the artist’s My Heart That Blooms in The Darkness of The Night, a limited-edition, hand-painted floral sculpture, which wraps around a magnum of Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2012. Taking the iconic yellow hue as their muse, American textile artist Sheila Hicks presents a cascading sculpture of threads and yellow fabric, while British-German artist Tacita Dean reflects the LA sun in an analogue film. The exhibition will also feature Veuve Clicquot’s latest La Grande Dame Vintage 2015, in collaboration with Italian ceramicist, Paola Paronetto.
As Jean-Marc Gallot, president and CEO of Veuve Clicquot, explained in a statement, ‘This exhibition is an unprecedented event for Veuve Clicquot and the symbol of our capacity to dream big and constantly innovate. Now in the United States, a key market for the house, this exhibition comes to Los Angeles, a sunshine-filled city where art, design, and style thrive, and will highlight the house’s know-how, typical of champagne winemakers, the life of Madame Clicquot, our iconic Yellow label and the many works produced for Veuve Clicquot in the 20th century by artists such as Yayoi Kusama.’
Among the archival objects on display will be a letter signed by Madame Clicquot and an original bottle of Veuve Clicquot from the 1840s, the latter discovered in a shipwreck in the Baltic sea. Visitors will also have the opportunity to journey through Veuve Clicquot’s vineyard and crayères chalk cellars and immerse themselves in a film sharing the house’s winemaking secrets
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
INFORMATION
‘Solaire Culture’ will run from 26 October - 17 November 2022 at the 468 North Rodeo Drive building, Los Angeles, CA. veuveclicquot.com
Harriet Lloyd-Smith was the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiences
Aesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternatives
From the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice church
Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
The Met’s ‘The Real Thing: Unpacking Product Photography’ dissects the avant-garde in early advertising
A new exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York explores the role of product photography and advertising in shaping the visual language of modernism
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Black cinema
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience
By Anne Soward Published
-
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s LA-made work goes on show at Gagosian
‘Made on Market Street’ at Gagosian in Beverly Hills is the first show to present works made by the young artist between 1982 and 1984
By Hunter Drohojowska-Philp Published
-
BLUM marks 30 years of Japanese contemporary art in America
BLUM will take ‘Thirty Years: Written with a Splash of Blood’ to its New York space in September 2024, continuing its celebration of Japanese contemporary art in America
By Timothy Anscombe-Bell Published
-
Todd Gray’s sculptural photography collages defy dimension, linearity and narrative
In Todd Gray’s New York exhibition, he revisits his 40-year archive, fragmented into elaborated frames that open doors for new readings
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Frieze LA 2024 guide: the art, gossip and buzz
Our Frieze LA 2024 guide includes everything you need to know and see in and around the fair
By Renée Reizman Published
-
What happened when Spike Jonze met Björk
Spike Jonze’s ‘The Day I Met Björk’, curated by Humberto Leon, is at Arroz & Fun in Los Angeles and accompanied by a free, downloadable zine from WeTransfer
By Hannah Silver Published
-
New York artist Christopher Astley showcases an alternative natural world
At Martos Gallery in New York, Christopher Astley’s paintings evoke an alternative natural world and the chaos of warfare (until 16 March 2024)
By Tianna Williams Published