Miss Dior celebrated in Beijing
As part of the 10th Sino-French festival, “Croisements”, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing recently hosted an exhibition dedicated to Miss Dior. Seventeen contemporary women artists were invited to celebrate the fragrance, a homage to Mr Dior’s love of artists and femininity.
The work of the 17 artists was exhibited in the galleries of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing from April 30 to May 31, 2015. On an initiative by Dior and under the curation of Hervé Mikaeloff, the artists were asked to draw their inspiration from one of the cues of Miss Dior and create their own personal take on the perfume. For example, Joana Vasconcelos used thousands of perfume bottles to recreate the Miss Dior bow. Taking her inspiration from the Miss Dior glove, Ma Quisha created the film Sleeping Beauty, while Alyson Shotz conceived an iridescent, glowing pink structure in dichroic film and Hannah Starkey designed a series of photographic variations inspired by a drawing of a white swan by René Gruau used for the launch of the fragrance in 1947
The show also featured numerous archive documents and Dior haute couture dresses tracing the history of the relationship between the House and artists. Before becoming a brilliant fashion designer, Mr Dior was a gallery owner in Paris, exhibiting works by artists, many of them close friends. In a reconstitution of his gallery were exhibited works by Bernard Buffet, Miro, Christian Bérard and Man Ray, the pure contrasts of this latter echoing the perfectly structured lines of the Bar suit. With the Miss Dior exhibition, the House is perpetuating the dialogue between fascinating and passionate creators.
Attracted by the concept, 105 000 visitors flocked to the outstanding show, and more than 1,600 guests attended the exhibition opening. “It’s amazing to see all these women artists honoured at the opening and their work admired by people from around the world,” said Nathalie Portman, the face of Miss Dior.