Carte blanche to Christian Lacroix
After two-and-a-half months of work, the Cognacq-Jay Museum has been unveiled with a free hand given to Christian Lacroix. The prolific designer here sets his signature to remarkable stage-setting.
Now experienced in working alongside museums, Christian Lacroix has taken on the challenge of creating a thread to link ambiances in the Cognacq-Jay Museum while working on a concept dear to his artistic approach : the creative world of the 18th century. He has thus invited over 40 contemporary artists and designers to focus on ten flagship themes identified in Ernest Cognac's acquisitions (Sense and Knowledge, Spectacles, Balls and Social Events, Exoticism, Childhood and Education, The Portrait…). All along the circuit, Lacroix proposes cross-references between the museum's collections and photographs, textiles, designer objects and installations by contemporary artists. Through these encounters - often very highly contrasted -, he makes us think to what extent the Enlightenment has had an impact on our present-day environment and encourages us to get a clearer impression of this cultural heritage. A flashy resin sculpture thus echoes the costumes of Arlequin and Colombine, while a collector's Barbie rubs shoulders with Meissen porcelain statuettes. Photographs by Tim Walker, Grégoire Alexandre, Pierre Gonnord and Wolfgang Tillmans also play their part in this selection which is, in fact, very astute.
Created in 1928 at the initiative of Ernest Cognacq, founder of La Samaritaine (1839–1928), the Cognacq-Jay Museum is housed in the Hôtel Donon, a prestigious 16th-C. residence in the Marais neighbourhood. The permanent collection is comprised of iconic 18th-C. artworks presented in a wood-panelled decor evoking the French style of living at the time, a scenography which had remained unchanged since 1990.
