The sun, sand… and Saint Laurent. That’s the vibe you can expect at Art Basel Miami Beach as it welcomes visitors, gallery owners and exhibitors once again since the pandemic began.
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One of the curators at the contemporary art fair which runs from November 30 to December 4 is Saint Laurent’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello. As part of his ongoing Saint Laurent Rive Droite project which sees the brand conceptualising retail experiences and special collaborations, Vaccarello has commissioned Japanese artist Sho Shibuya for a showcase called 55 Sunrises.
Two paintings that Sho Shibuya created specially for Saint Laurent. The pieces pay tribute to the 55th anniversary of the Rive Gauche st0re opening in Paris.
The New York-based artist’s popularity undeniably received a boost during the quarantine thanks to his Sunrise series – you know those Mark Rothko-esque images widely shared on Instagram which showed the front pages of The New York Times doused in colourful arrays of paint.
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The series sees Shibuya capture the hues of the morning sky outside his window, at once turning the paintings as a visual diary documenting headlines – from events surrounding the Trump era to schools going into lockdown – as well as an antidote to the chaotic reality we’re living in right now.
The artworks from the 55 Sunrise show will go on sale from next year at Saint Laurent’s Rive Droite stores in Paris and Los Angeles.
Vaccarello chose 53 of Shibuya’s works to be showcased in an ephemeral gallery that was constructed on Miami Beach. Two additional paintings were made especially for Saint Laurent to mark the opening of the Rive Gauche boutique on Paris’ Left Bank 55 years ago, with the intense pink and red paint alluding to the brand’s original logo.
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From early next year, all of the paintings will be on display and up for sale at Rive Droite stores in Paris and Los Angeles. In the meantime, we share some scenes from the exhibition taken throughout the day that show the play of light and shadows within the space.
