Black womanhood—its joys, beauty, and power—is taking center stage at a major group show in Paris. Its mastermind? Multi-hyphenate Pharrell Williams, who curated the exhibition with a personal lens.
“Women have been such a force in my life—from my grandmothers to my mother, to my wife, my daughter, my nieces, my cousins, people on my team, and people on our extended bench,” he told Euronews. “Women are an amazing force for good in the world.”
Carrie Mae Weems, (2009–25). Photo: David Regen. © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York, Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin.
“FEMMES” at Perrotin Paris brings together nearly 40 artists, most of them women. Collectively, these works demonstrate the sheer breadth of Black creativity, while exploring threads from motherhood to identity.
These artists were picked, Emmanuel Perrotin told Wallpaper, “after several brainstormings and back-and-forths between Pharrell and my team.” And while the organizers could not include all the artists they hoped to, he added, “we have a large group, and a very good group.”
Installation view of “FEMMES,” curated by Pharrell Williams at Perrotin Paris, 2025. Photo: Claire Dorn. Courtesy of all the artists and Perrotin. © ADAGP, Paris, 2025.
The cross-generational show sees Betye Saar’s richly symbolic assemblages rubbing shoulders with Nina Chanel Abney’s bold canvases, with Esther Mahlangu’s abstractions sitting alongside Carrie Mae Weems’s out-of-focus photographic series. As compelling are the themes unearthed: Zanele Muholi and Henry Taylor’s pieces examine ever-evolving Black portraiture, while works by Malala Andrialavidrazana and Jess Atieno engage with collective history and memory.
Betye Saar, (2009). Photo: Paul Salveson. © BetyeSaar. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles.
Williams’s touch is evident throughout, the gallery pointed out. The visual language of pop culture—in which the singer, songwriter, and producer is firmly entrenched—is echoed in the exhibition. It’s in Tschabalala Self’s vivid screenprints, which complicate cultural representations of the Black body, and in Todd Gray’s photomontages, rich with layers of meaning.
Nina Chanel Abney, (2024). Courtesy of Nina Chanel Abney and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. © Nina Chanel Abney.
As creative director of Louis Vuitton Men’s, Williams has also overseen a display of textile artworks at the exhibition. Among them are Georgina Maxim, whose works repurpose fabrics to rewrite their histories; Tandiwe Muriu, who draws on the richness of African textiles for her eye-popping photographs; and Katia St. Hilaire, whose tapestries re-center Haitian history.
Kathia St. Hilaire, (2023). Photo: Guillaume Ziccarelli. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin.
“He has a very open mind to the art world,” Perrotin said of Williams’s curation. “We organized this show with a lot of freedom. And yes, [Pharrell’s] list surprised me. It [features] a lot of artists I had no idea existed. And that’s why we take curators, to discover things. To open the prism. It’s very interesting.”
Williams and Perrotin go way back. The pair first connected in 2007 at a Miami pool party, bonding over a shared love for Takashi Murakami and the Japanese art scene. Their shared attitudes were immediately evident at the 2014 exhibition “G I R L,” the musician and gallerist’s first collaboration. Named after Williams’s hit album, it was curated by Williams to include a host of heavy hitters such as Tracey Emin, Ryan McGinley, Guerrilla Girls, and Marina Abramović.
Pharrell Williams, Emmanuel Perrotin, Louise Thurin, and the artists: Alex Gardner, Robert Pruitt, Kenturah Davis, Lauren Kelley, Kennedy Yanko, Theresa Chromati, Naomi Lulendo, Georgina Maxim, Thandiwe Muriu, Kenia Almaraz Murillo, Emma Prempeh, Mequitta Ahuja, Kathia St. Hilaire, Zéh Palito, Todd Gray, and Eden Tinto Collins. Photo: Tanguy Beurdeley, courtesy Perrotin
As a follow-up, “FEMMES” hopes to lend greater visibility to the artists on view, while serving as a powerful affirmation of Black womanhood. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for a Black woman,” as Williams told Wallpaper.
“When we considered doing the show again, we remembered how much impact it had, and how I was able to leverage my platform. To give volume and visibility to female artists, how powerful it felt,” he added. “And as you consider everything that’s going on right now, how much more impactful it could be if we were to do this one even a little more focused than before. To be an homage to Black women.”
“FEMMES” is on view at Perrotin, 76 rue de Turenne, Paris, France, through April 19.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
