Inside "Bentu", France's First Exhibition Devoted To Chinese Art In 10 Years

Contemporary Chinese art shines at the Fondation Louis Vuitton

Bentu Exhibition Louis Vuitton — Photo: Marc Domage for Louis Vuitton

By Harper’s Bazaar Singapore Team - published 30 Mar 2016

If any brand has experienced the extremes of the Chinese market, Louis Vuitton is it.

So it is no surprise that it has made the move to expand its reach within the market, but this time, to the world of Chinese art—a market that has continued to flourish despite showing all the typical signs of an over-heated hype and bubble.

In line with the French maison's ongoing ode to art, "Bentu, Chinese artists at a time of turbulence and transformation," is the first exhibition devoted solely to contemporary Chinese art in France in the past 10 years, and is housed in Fondation Louis Vuitton.

The curation brings together 12 Chinese artists of different generations, whose emotional artworks examine the heart-stopping realities of life in China and complexities of a society that is in permanent mutation, as well as interpret the country's enormous potential. Questions relating to relationships between the city and countryside, economy and ecology, and tradition and urbanisation are also addressed through a wide variety of techniques and artistic mediums. It is a representation of local and global through an artistic rediscovery of identity, and not to be missed if you're in Paris anytime from now till 2 May 2016.

By Dana Koh