pharrell williams curates GIRL at galerie perrotin to celebrate femininity

pharrell williams curates GIRL at galerie perrotin to celebrate femininity
(above) view of the exhibition ‘girl’ curated by pharrell williams — salle de bal / galerie perrotin, paris
takashi murakami, ‘portrait of pharrell and helen – dance’, 2014.
acrylic and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on board (photo by terry richardson) / φ1500 mm
© 2014 takashi murakami/kaikai kiki co., ltd. all rights reserved.
photo by claire dorn / courtesy galerie perrotin

‘GIRL’, curated by pharrell williams
galerie perrotin, paris
now through june 25th, 2014

what began as a friendship between gallery owner emmanuel perrotin and artist and musician pharrell williams has developed into a creative collaboration with the opening of ‘GIRL’. the exhibition, curated by pharrell, has been devised especially for perrotin’s new site, the historic salle de bal in paris. to mark the release of the his latest album, under the same name, pharrell brings together 48 different artworks for the show ranging through an expanse of media and aesthetic, yet tied, creatively, under the theme of femininity. 12 specially produced pieces have been made for the event, interpreting the subject through vibrantly colored paintings, large-scale sculpture and installations. the selection of 37 artists includes 18 females, with marina abramovic & ulay, tracey emin, yoko ono and paola pivi participating in the celebration of women, individuality and creativity.

takashi murakami
portrait of pharrell and helen – dance, 2014
acrylic and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on board (photo by terry richardson) / φ 1500 mm
© 2014 takashi murakami/kaikai kiki co., ltd. all rights reserved / courtesy galerie perrotin

‘after the launch party for my new gallery in new york in late 2013, pharrell took a few of us to listen to the first 5 tracks of his upcoming album GIRL.’ emmanuel perrotin describes ‘the songs put us in such a good mood that we danced to all of them. at this moment, we realized that this tribute to women was going to be a worldwide success and would represent a shift in his career. pharrell made us feel like we were part of it. this project at the gallery in paris is a natural continuation of this adventure’

guy limone
‘girl’, 2014
311 hand painted plastic figurines (scale 1/87th) / 311 figurines en plastique peint (échelle 1/87eme)
69 x 69 inches / 175 x 175 cm
photo by claire dorn / courtesy galerie perrotin

among the works created specially for the exhibition are a large circular painting by takashi murakami (a tribute to pharrell and his wife in her wedding gown) a sculpture by daniel arsham made of broken glass (in which a full body cast of the artist was made) a laser portrait of marilyn monroe by gregor hildebrandt, a new work on canvas by KAWS of lucy van pelt from the popular ‘peanuts’ series and special projects with guerrilla girls, rob pruitt and JR, for whom pharrell created the soundtrack of his latest film.

rob pruitt
studio loveseat (pharrell), 2014
markers and pens on canvas couch, chromed feet / 27 x 58 x 30 inches
photo by claire dorn / courtesy of the artist

view of the exhibition ‘girl’ curated by pharrell williams
salle de bal / galerie perrotin, paris
photo by claire dorn / courtesy galerie perrotin

daniel arsham
‘the future pharrell’, 2014
shattered glass, resin / 23 x 15 x 70 inches
photo by claire dorn / courtesy galerie perrotin

tracey emin
‘wanting you’ 2010
neon / 37,44 x 44,33 inches / 95,1 x 112,6 cm
courtesy of the artist and lehmann maupin gallery, new york and hong kong

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