In the latest instalment at Saint Laurent’s Rive Droite stores in Paris and Los Angeles is an exhibition showcasing artist Laurent Pernot’s body of work. A total of 19 pieces of paintings, of which nine will be shown at the brand’s store in Paris and 10 at its Los Angeles store. The French contemporary artist’s repertoire includes mediums like photography, video, installations and sculptures, which he has been doing for the past two decades.
Some of the highlights that are shown at the dual-city presentation are Pernot’s latest series called “The Contemplations”. Comprising of painted wood and scraps of natural marble that have been collaged together, these paintings show images that reference an extensive source spanning from art history and different cultures. Everything from geography, time period and fleetness are rendered meaningless in the eyes of Pernot as it gets encapsulated in Pernot’s paintings.
Inspired by Victor Hugo’s collection of poems by the same name, which explored the idea of breaking down an autobiography into different verses, Pernot’s artworks shown in Saint Laurent Rive Droite stores attempt to reconcile the disparate binaries like “man and nature, ephemerality and eternality, memory and oblivion, and history and love”. The pastel-hued paintings project a sense of dreaminess but beyond this is a much more complex composition that awaits the interpretation of its viewer.
The artworks at the Saint Laurent Rive Droite store in Paris will feature works like Our Endless Love (2021), Into the Cloud (2022), A Rainbow Above the Tears (2022), and Still Life (The Bike) (2015). While over in Los Angeles, artworks on display include The memory of our love shall bridge the ages (2021), Behind the Garden (2022), and The Bay Before Sunset (2022).
Laurent Pernot is represented by Galerie Marguo and the exhibition was curated by Saint Laurent’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello. Over the years, the designer has actively invited scores of artists to showcase their artworks at the two Rive Droite stores as a way to expand the brand’s reach and connection to the world of art and also to communicate the Parisian house’s artistic vision.
The showcase happens now till 12 January 2023 at Saint Laurent Rive Droite stores in Paris and Los Angeles.