HAUTE FASHION

ARTFOR THE LOVE OF

INTRODUCING THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF THE LOUIS VUITTON ARTYCAPUCINES COLLECTION, WHERE SIX RENOWNED GLOBAL ARTISTS REIMAGINE THE CAPUCINES HANDBAG THROUGH THEIR OWN VISION AND ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS.

BY ADRIENNE FAUROTE

AMÉLIE BERTRAND

For French artist Amélie Bertrand, art is about studying the relationship between paint and the surface. Known for her vibrant use of colors and creating a visual universe of skewed perspectives, Bertrand blurs the lines between the natural and artificial in her work. “My work is a study of surface,” explains Bertrand. “Each painting is constructed using layers upon layers of digitally sourced materials — tiling, pebbles, plant motifs, artificial nature — which are first composed as small-scale digital works and then hand-drawn and painted onto the larger-scale canvas. Unlike a lot of paintings, there is only one single layer of painting itself in my completed works; the layers exist in the source material, not on the canvas.” A testament to her expertise in warping the dimension of color, her Artycapucines radiates bold colors and light.

DANIEL BUREN

Daniel Buren is one of the world’s leading contemporary artists. The French artist has explored the dynamic relationships between art and its physical and intellectual structures and our perception of light and space for the last six decades, with his work featured in over 3,000 exhibitions. His Artycapucines creation further investigates his study of space while also introducing his signature vertical stripe, which is now trademarked. “The subject of this work is not a specific space or precise environment, which [is] usually at the heart of all my work; rather, it’s a fixed object,” admits Buren. “The Capucines has a really simple design: a trapezoid as a base and the arc of a circle as a handle. Everything starts from there. My initial sketch was rather abstract, but the object’s function was still clear. By making the handle an exact semicircle and transferring it to the body of the bag itself, two shapes emerged: a trapezoid and a circle.”

PETER MARINO

New York-based architect Peter Marino is no stranger to the fashion industry, as his work globally reaches a vast range of sectors, including residential, cultural, hospitality, and major luxury fashion retail. In fact, Louis Vuitton also tapped Marino for its 200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries project, where artists interpreted the Louis Vuitton trunk for an exhibition. Marino is known for his minimalistic designs, graphic use of black and white to create light, and experimentation of textures, ultimately fusing the worlds of fashion, art, architecture, and interior design. In true Peter Marino style, his Artycapucines is a black monochromatic masterpiece with dynamic textures. He was inspired by a visit to a 14th century building in Venice, Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista: “One time when I was visiting, I noticed a medieval box near the monumental staircase designed by Italian architect Mauro Codussi,” he explains. “This box had straps and a medieval key. I was inspired by these elements, which I translated into this new Artycapucines bag.”

One of Korea’s most celebrated artists, Park Seo-Bo, is the founder of Dansaekhwa, a movement that began in the early 1970s and altered the course of Korean art with its ideas of the purposelessness of actions and the spiritual benefits of endless repetition. This profound philosophy echoes through his Artycapucines. “When I started using colors in my painting, I did so by searching for ‘natural color’ instead of ‘ideological color.’ One time, I was looking at a valley by Mount Bandai; the valley was aligned with the sun, so it appeared almost neon red. The color was so intense that it felt like I was looking at a flame chasing me to my death,” explains Seo-Bo. “That moment acted as a reminder that I’m only a tiny being in front of the vastness of nature. As the wind blew the clouds and the sunlight shone, one side of the valley remained neon red, while the other side became shaded and much darker. I thought I should paint this harmony of nature; my red painting came from this moment — from nature.”

UGO RONDINONE

Ugo Rondinone, a renowned Swiss artist, creates with intention, exploring the depths of the human condition and nature, and creating a wide range of two- and three-dimensional objects, installations, videos, and performances. Rondinone’s works often represent pressing issues in current history, where modernist achievement and archaic expression intersect. “[For the bag], I took two archetypal symbols I often use in my work: the clown and the rainbow. With its recognizable nonbinary character and outlandish costumes, distinctive makeup, colorful wigs, and exaggerated footwear, the clown is designed to entertain large audiences,” notes Rondinone. “In my work, though, I have turned it into a character who doesn’t entertain but instead just sits in contemplation. The rainbow is a communal archetype of unity and peace, while also referring to the gay-liberation movement.”

KENNEDY YANKO

For famed artist and sculptor Kennedy Yanko, her artistic niche is found in metal and paint skin, a material she makes by pouring large amounts of paint, letting it dry, and using the sheet-like form to create new sculptural compositions. Her modern works have led her to become the first sculptor in residence at the

Rubell Museum in Miami. Working on this particular project with Louis Vuitton broadened Yanko’s artistic horizons. “When the Louis Vuitton team first came in,

I shared an idea of what I wanted to do. The next time I saw them, they presented me with so many different options to choose from — it really expanded my mind of what this bag could be,” she explained. “Once we’d figured out the colors and style and how to create the bag itself, I was particularly interested in making something functional. I wanted a bag you could use at any event and with any outfit. For example, the handle comes off, and there’s a pouch underneath it, so you can slide your hand and then carry the bag as a clutch.”

THE ARTYCAPUCINES DESIGNED BY THESE SIX ARTISTS FURTHER DEMONSTRATE LOUIS VUITTON’S DEDICATION TO THE FUTURE OF ART AND FASHION AS WELL AS THE MAISON’S PASSION TO COLLABORATE, CATAPULTING THE CAPUCINES DESIGN INTO A NEW DIMENSION. THE 2022 ARTYCAPUCINES COLLECTION WILL RELEASE EACH BAG IN A LIMITED EDITION OF 200 PIECES AVAILABLE IN LOUIS VUITTON STORES WORLDWIDE.