PAST EXHIBITIONS

FREE FALL BY XAVIER VEILHAN

JANUARY 15THMAY 24TH, 2011

Xavier Veilhan inaugurates the Espace Louis Vuitton in Tokyo.

In tribute to the 5th anniversary of the Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton in Paris, Louis Vuitton is delighted to host French artist Xavier Veilhan for the inaugural exhibition of the ESPACE LOUIS VUITTON TOKYO.

Famous for his installations anchored in urban reality, Veilhan received special recognition in 2009 thanks to an exhibition of his works at the Château de Versailles.

In creating this exhibition, Xavier Veilhan drew inspiration from the ESPACE LOUIS VUITTON TOKYO, suspended between heaven and earth on the 7th floor of the Louis Vuitton Omotesando Building. Christened “FREE FALL”, the exhibition was “conceived specifically for this central, weightless place”, he notes. “It invites me to reconstitute the mental and aerial dimensions which can be reached through art.”

FREE FALL is an invitation to experience the emotion of a weightless trip similar to what feels the visitor when he discovers the Espace.

Four originals art works have been created for the exhibition, with the support of Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo and Galerie Perrotin–Paris.

ARTIST

Xavier Veilhan at the Espace, Nov 2010

© Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo

PROFILE

Xavier Veilhan
Born in 1963
Lives and works in Paris, France.

RECENT SOLO EXHIBITIONS / PUBLIC PROJECTS

2011
Mucsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest
Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm
Free Fall, Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo

2010
The Mobile exhibited at Louis Vuitton New York Fifth Avenue, New York
Xavier Veilhan, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Miami
Le Carrosse, installation Place de la République, Metz
Interacting with History: Xavier Veilhan at The Mount, The Mount, Lenox
Kukje Gallery, Seoul
RAL 5015, Artcurial, Paris
Sorry We're Closed, Bruxelles

2009
Veilhan Versailles, Château de Versailles, Versailles
Sophie, work in situ, Costes Restaurant Le Germain, Paris

ARTIST WEBSITE LINK

www.veilhan.net
www.veilhan-versailles.com
www.furtivo-lefilm.com

ARTWORKS

Regulator

Wood, steel, rubber, polystyrene, fiberglass, blower device, polyurethane paint
700 x 450 x 720 cm
Courtesy Xavier Veilhan / Work with support of Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo

Regulator, 2011, is a Renaissance-like machine or pedagogical instrument. It starts and stops randomly, being an unfixed machine that is made to move by strong airflow. The arms stretch out and the spheres lift as centrifugal force overcomes the pull of gravity. The sculpture thus challenges the spatial perception of the visitor.

“As a child used to amuse myself by spinning a marble on the bottom of a round basin, until it spun up the sides, propelled by the centrifugal force overpowering gravity.” “Often, art simply consists of showing invisible things”

Free Fall n°1, n°2, n°3

Wood, glass, paper, needles
148 x 113 x 11 cm
Courtesy Xavier Veilhan / Work with support of Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo

© Sebastian Mayer / Louis Vuitton
© Veilhan/Adagp, Paris, 2011

In Free Fall no°1, no°2, no°3, 2011, pieces of paper, in different shades of grey, are suspended by needles to form an abstract cartographic experience that turns figurative when seen from a distance. The images were taken at a freefall simulator: an instructor is helping the artist himself to find his balance in the air flow.

Tokyo Statue

Polyurethane, wood, epoxy paint
400 x 115 x 115 cm
Courtesy Galerie Perrotin, Paris

In tribute to the Japanese capital hosting this exhibition and to its residents, Xavier Veilhan is offering visitors, Tokyo Statue, 2011, is a four-meter-high silhouette, in a deep green, in the tradition of the artist’s emblematic work – his series of statues representing scanned human figures. As with his previous works, where postures and attitudes take precedence over the models to become forms, his definition – boiled down to a few facets – approaches abstraction and evokes – albeit with a modern dimension – Tatlin, Calder, Giacometti, Malevitch or Brancusi. The figure and base are not dissociated, but treated on the contrary with the same care: each

Tokyo Statue, 2011, is a simplified representation of a spectator at the show, but celebrated on a pedestal, looking at the city skyline. It integrates a seat to allow contemplation of the view, not only of the show. The green color is traditional in his work: it matches the color of the floor and makes the statue appear as a silhouette.