An expansive, hypnotic exhibition of American multidisciplinary artist Harmony Korine is on view in Paris, presented by the French fashion designer agnès b.—who owns the largest collection of Korine’s work in the world.
Korine (b. 1973) is best known for his independent films, particularly his directorial debut feature film 1997’s and 2012’s starring James Franco and Selena Gomez. His first major cinematic milestone was writing the screenplay for Larry Clark’s cult classic (1995) after meeting Clark while skateboarding in Washington Square Park. He is also an experienced fine artist, having had recent solo shows with both Hauser and Wirth and Gagosian. His approach welcomes humor, erraticism, experimentation, and improvisation, and he has called his art “mistakist.”
Harmony Korine, (2023). © Harmony Korine.
Agnès b. (b. 1941) was born Agnès Andrée Marguerite Troublé and opened her first fashion boutique in 1975 after a stint working for after being headhunted for her fashion sense in a Paris flea market in her early 20s. In 1982 she opened her first international store in New York and demonstrated her love for art more broadly by displaying vintage movie posters throughout the store. That commitment to supporting artistic creation continues to this day.
La Fab, the designer’s library and gallery located inside a social housing project on the Place Jean-Michel Basquiat in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, is the headquarters for agnès b.’s endowment fund and has held public exhibitions, concerts, and screenings since February 2020. She spoke to Artnet News about her art collection when La Fab first opened, saying, “I made the collection by acquiring pieces by young, unknown artists—I never bought a Jeff Koons for $3 million…When I bought [a] Basquiat drawing it wasn’t expensive at all; I got it from his studio at the time, because of one piece I had seen in Paris. That’s why I wanted to know more about him, and we met later.”
Agnès b. and Korine first met in 1999 at the Venice Film Festival when the designer came to see Korine’s latest film, the experimental drama after having been a fan of . The pair collaborated for the first time that same year when Korine was invited to contribute to issue #12 of agnès b.’s , a periodical she co-created with Swiss curator and critic Hans Ulrich Obrist and French sculptor and photographer Christian Boltanski.
Harmony Korine, (2009) © Harmony Korine © Rebecca Fanuele.
The two struck up a lasting professional relationship and close personal friendship. “There is something between us, we become children together. It’s not about support, it’s about friendship”, agnès b. told in 2003. The feeling was mutual—”I liked her immediately,” said Korine, “She’s like a kindred spirit or something.”
It was at agnès b.’s Galerie du Jour on Rue du Jour in Paris—founded by the designer in 1984—where Korine had his first solo show, titled “The Sigil of the Cloven Hoof Marks Thy Path,” with a second show—featuring screenplay drafts alongside drawings and photographs—taking place in 2003. Galerie du Jour built its reputation on exhibitions of graffiti artists including Futura 2000, A-one, and Les Tétines Noires.
Harmony Korine, (2010). © Harmony Korine © Rebecca Fanuele.
Korine’s fourth feature, (2009), was co-produced by agnès b. through their joint production company O’Salvation. Speaking to the about the foundation of O’Salvation, Korine said, “I didn’t want a movie production company because I’m just as interested in writing books or art shows, stuff like that. She understood that I wanted to go off in different directions. I needed something that whatever I wanted to do I could do and get it out there.”
The new show, “Harmony Korine in the agnès b. Collection Since 1997” is the first solo show of agnès b.’s collection to be hosted at La Fab. It features paintings, photographs, and prints by Korine, highlighting his artistic endeavors which have often been overshadowed by his reputation as a filmmaker. The exhibition is a celebration of the “artistic complicity” between the two, and a testament to their professional and personal relationship which has bolstered each other’s practices for a quarter of a century.
Harmony Korine, (2023).
© Harmony Korine.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
