Christian Lacroix-curated show at the Réattu Museum, Arles July 3, 2008. Through October 31, native son and couturier Christian Lacroix has invaded the Réattu Museum of Arles. Invited to “take possession” of the Renaissance palace for several months, Lacroix has created a 22,000-square-foot exhibition that pulls from the museum’s historical and contemporary collections and them knits these pieces into his own work, hung on simple white mannequins, and more recent work contributed by artists he has invited to participate. The show mixes Picasso with Ansel Adams, Brassaï and Kertesz with Olivier Saillard and Joachim Schmid with a minimum of disjunction. Lacroix has performed the roles of curator and set designer with distinction, creating his own lighting and hand-sewn flooring designed to suit each interior. The result is an extraordinary series of marbled, gilded and wallpapered rooms spartanly furnished with combinations of couture, classical canvasses hung in careful clusters beside frames filled with the most modern photography, and antique busts gathered into strategic piles. Art has even been hung on the exterior walls of the museum, facing a bend in the nearby Rhone River. Acte Sud will publish the accompanying catalog on July 8. musee.reattu@ville-arles.fr +33 (0)4 90 49 37 58
Lacroix’s show mixes fashion, photography and the fine arts