VOGUE UK — RICK OWENS WANTS HIS ONE-OFF TAKEOVER OF PARIS’S POMPIDOU CENTRE TO BE ‘AN ART ORGY IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT’ — 17 OCTOBER 2019 — LIAM FREEMAN

17 OCTOBER 2019

FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR DURING THE FOIRE INTERNATIONALE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN (FIAC) ART FAIR IN PARIS — ITS 46TH EDITION, RUNNING FROM 17 TO 20 OCTOBER — THE POMPIDOU CENTRE IS HOLDING A SPECIAL EVENT OF ITS OWN: YOU X ART X CENTRE POMPIDOU.

ON 17 OCTOBER, FASHION DESIGNER RICK OWENS WILL BRING HIS GLAMOUR-MEETS-GRUNGE AESTHETIC TO THE FIFTH FLOOR GALLERIES OF THE CULTURAL VENUE — HOME TO THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN ART — WITH A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE. USING RICK OWENS FURNITURE AS THE STAGE, FIGURES FROM THE DESIGNER’S CREATIVE SPHERE WILL RESPOND TO THE WORKS OF ART ON DISPLAY BEFORE THE EVENING CULMINATES IN AN AFTER-PARTY.

OWENS FOLLOWS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF PORTUGUESE VISUAL ARTIST DAVIDE BALULA, AND BEFORE HIM ITALIAN ARTIST AND FILMMAKER FRANCESCO VEZZOLI. BOTH WERE ALSO GRANTED CARTE BLANCHE OVER THE MUSEUM SPACE; THE LATTER COLLABORATED WITH THE PARIS OPERA ACADEMY TO CREATE AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE FOR THE POMPIDOU’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2017.

ORGANISED BY FRIENDS OF THE CENTRE POMPIDOU, PROCEEDS FROM THE TICKETED EVENT WILL GO TOWARDS THE CENTURIES-OLD EFFORT TO GROW THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN ART’S COLLECTIONS. IN 2018 ALONE, 120 WORKS WERE ACQUIRED THANKS TO THE NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION’S PATRONAGE. THE MUSEUM NOW BOASTS THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART IN EUROPE.

AHEAD OF THE REVELRY, OWENS REVEALS TO VOGUE HOW HE INTENDS TO EXERCISE HIS CREATIVE FREEDOM.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR YOU X ART X CENTRE POMPIDOU (YACP) PROJECT — WHAT CAN VISITORS EXPECT?

I STARTED WITH THE THOUGHT: ‘WHAT IS THE MOST RADICAL THING I CAN DO IN A SPACE FILLED WITH INCREDIBLE WORKS OF ART?’ AND I CONCLUDED IT WAS TO BRING IN MY OWN WORKS OF ART. SO THERE WILL BE LIVING WORKS OF ART (PEOPLE I ADMIRE WHO HAVE DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO CREATIVE EXPRESSION), STANDING ON WORKS OF ART (MY FURNITURE DESIGNS), RESPONDING TO WORKS OF ART (THE POMPIDOU’S COLLECTION). I WANT IT TO BE AN ART ORGY IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT (A MUSEUM).

THE WHOLE THING IS REALLY COLLABORATIVE. I’M NOT CHOREOGRAPHING THE PERFORMERS OR TELLING THEM WHAT TO DO, I’M SIMPLY COMPOSING THEM. THEN, OF COURSE, IT’S ALSO A COLLABORATION WITH MY WIFE MICHÈLE [LAMY], WHO IS NURTURING THE RICK OWENS FURNITURE BUSINESS. WHILE I HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT I WANT, IT’S HER THAT SEES THE DESIGNS THROUGH.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOUR CREATIVE OEUVRE TO TRANSCEND FASHION INTO ART, INTERIOR DESIGN, PUBLISHING AND SO ON?

I THINK A LOT ABOUT ENVIRONMENT WHEN I’M DESIGNING CLOTHES. I LOVE THE IDEA OF EVERYTHING CONNECTING AND BEING AUTHENTIC; THAT YOU WEAR AN OUTFIT THAT RELATES TO WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU LIVE AND HOW YOU LIVE — EVERYTHING COMPLETE AND RESOLVED. THERE’S A MORALITY TO IT WHICH HAS ALWAYS INTERESTED ME.

DID THE IDEAS EXPLORED IN YOUR SPRING/SUMMER 2020 COLLECTION INFORM YACP IN ANY WAY?

NOT LITERALLY, BUT LIKE I SAY, IT’S IMPORTANT TO ME THAT THERE IS A CONSISTENT AESTHETIC THREAD THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT I DO IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. MY LATEST COLLECTION TOOK INSPIRATION FROM MY MEXICAN HERITAGE ON MY MOTHER’S SIDE OF THE FAMILY, WHICH I HAVEN’T EXPLORED THAT MUCH BEFORE.

I RECENTLY WENT TO SEE AN EXHIBITION AT THE PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION IN VENICE ABOUT JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS’ TRAVELS THROUGH MEXICO AND THE COUNTRY’S INFLUENCE ON THEIR WORK. THEY SKETCHED THE PYRAMIDS AND DOCUMENTED AZTEC WRITING SYSTEMS. IT REALLY DELIGHTED ME BECAUSE IT WAS A VERY PLAYFUL, GERMAN INTERPRETATION OF MEXICO — A LENS VERY SIMILAR TO MINE, THE OPPOSITE OF A CLICHÉ.

WHICH WORKS IN THE POMPIDOU CENTRE’S COLLECTION DO YOU FIND MOST INSPIRING?

THERE’S AN INSTALLATION BY [ITALIAN ARTIST] GIUSEPPE PENONE IN WHICH ALL THE WALLS ARE LINED WITH LAUREL LEAVES BEHIND WIRE MESH. CLOSE TO THAT IS A JOSEPH BEUYS INSTALLATION [CALLED PLIGHT] AND THE WALLS ARE COVERED WITH GREY WOOL FELT, AND, IN ANOTHER ROOM, A FLOOR BY CARL ANDRE [144 TIN SQUARE]. I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF THAT AS MY FANTASY HOME — A PENONE ROOM, A BEUYS ROOM, ALL THE FLOORS COVERED IN METAL TILES.

WHAT IS IT THAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT CREATING WORK FOR A MUSEUM SETTING?

MUSEUMS ARE SO COMPELLING TO ME — THEY ALL HAVE A LOADED HISTORY. JUST LOOK AT HOW MANY WORKS OF ART HAVE BEEN STOLEN, OR ARE THE SUBJECT OF CONTROVERSY, OR HAVE BEEN CLAIMED AND RECLAIMED. TO ME, MUSEUMS REPRESENT THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, WICKEDNESS, ASPIRATION, WAR, GREED, CONFLICT AND, AT THE SAME TIME, BEAUTY. THEY’RE VERY SALACIOUS PLACES.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE MATERIALS FOR YOUR FURNITURE?

THOUGHT THAT COMBINES SPIRITUALITY AND MATERIALITY FOR A BETTER HUMANITY] FOR SOME TIME — THE CLINICAL COMPOSITION OF ORGANIC MATERIALS REALLY APPEALS TO ME. I’VE PUSHED THIS IDEA IN A MORE OPULENT DIRECTION BY USING ACRES OF ALABASTER AND MARBLE. SOME OF THE FURNITURE SHAPES ARE SO SIMPLE — I’VE INCORPORATED ANTLERS INTO THEM TO GIVE AN ORGANIC FLOURISH. ANTLERS REPRESENT GLORY TO ME — THEY’RE LIKE A CROWN.

HOW DO THE IDEAS OF CONNECTIVITY AND AUTHENTICITY PLAY OUT IN YOUR OWN HOME?

MY HOUSES ARE VERY BASIC USUALLY. ALL MY FURNITURE IS MADE FROM RUSTIC WOOD IN VERY SIMPLE GEOMETRIC SHAPES. I LOVE AN EXTRAVAGANT FLOOR; IN MY VENICE HOUSE, THE FLOOR IS MADE FROM SARDINIAN STONE, AND IN MY CONCORDIA HOUSE, I HAVE TRAVERTINE THROUGHOUT. I DON’T HANG ART ON THE WALLS; INSTEAD, ART NOUVEAU SCULPTURES ON PEDESTALS ARE SCATTERED AROUND. A LITTLE BIT GOES A LONG WAY WITH ME. ALTHOUGH I’M DRAWN TO MODERNIST ART, I LIKE ART NOUVEAU FOR ITS COMPLETE INDULGENCE AND SENSUALITY — ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S PRESENTED IN SUCH AN AUSTERE SPACE.