The Celine Art Project: How Art and Ideas Shape the World of Celine Stores

H edi Slimane, Creative Director at Celine, has always put art at the centre of his practise. At Celine, he has adopted a curatorial approach, collaborating with emerging artists to commission site specific works for flagship stores worldwide, as part of the Celine Art Project. The brand's commitment to the arts runs deep and wide.

Today, visitors to Celine’s recently-opened flagship store in London’s New Bond Street can enjoy a kaleidoscopic artistic experience whilst experiencing the gorgeous architecture of the freshly renovated building. Amidst the opulent, striking designs by Slimane, specially-commissioned, site-specific art works hang from the ceilings, sit on the walls and stand throughout the multi-level shop. They are all striking, noticeably forthright in their energy and formal innovation and composition. You find yourself drawn to the sculpture, subtly juxtapositioned between clothing, footwear, accessories and fragrances. And it works - these artworks, selected by Slimane and his team, echo his ethos at Celine, combining cutting-edge experimentation, with eclectic materials and media.

Hanging from the ceiling are two giant looping wooden sculptures by Nika Neelova, made from reclaimed wooden bannisters. The beguiling forms stretching to 3 metres, create a conversation in space and appear to defy gravity. On the main floor, a characterful wood and metal figurative sculpture, entitled 'Najunga From The Kuchu Ngaali (Crested Crane) Clan' by Ugandan artist Leilah Babirye towers nine feet tall, positioned like a totem, beckoning interaction.

It's a dizzying experience, walking through the New Bond Street store, but considering Slimane's background in the visual arts as a photographer and curator, it's hardly surprising that visitors are confronted with such a wealth of art. Since taking the helm as Creative Director in 2018, promoting cutting-edge art has become a central strand of Slimane’s vision at the venerable house, founded in Paris by Celine Vipiana in 1945. Today, the bold artworks found in Celine stores worldwide are the results of Slimane's Celine Art Project, an initiative which he began in 2019, with the opening of the Madison Avenue store in New York.

The Celine Art Project at New Bond Street, London

Launch Slideshow

The Celine Art Project at New Bond Street, London

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  MEL KENDRICK "2 HOLES"

  A PRE-EMINENT AMERICAN SCULPTOR, KENDRICK’S THOROUGHGOING PRACTICE HAS INVOLVED THE USE OF CAST BRONZE, CONCRETE, A VARIETY OF WOODS, RUBBER, RESIN, AS WELL AS INVESTIGATIONS WITH CAST PAPER. KENDRICK ADDRESSES PHILOSOPHICAL, CONCEPTUAL, AND FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS AROUND SCULPTURE: NAMELY, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OBJECT AS WE EXPERIENCE IT AND THE CLEARLY EVIDENT MEANS BY WHICH IT WAS CREATED.
  
  MEL KENDRICK (B. 1949, BOSTON, MA) IS CURRENTLY THE SUBJECT OF A MAJOR RETROSPECTIVE AT THE ADDISON GALLERY OF AMERICAN ART IN ANDOVER, MA, TRAVELING TO THE PARRISH ART MUSEUM, WATER MILL, NY. HE HAS BEEN INCLUDED IN NUMEROUS SIGNIFICANT SOLO AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS INTERNATIONALLY, BEGINNING WITH HIS SOLO DEBUT AT ARTIST’S SPACE, NEW YORK, IN 1974. IN 1984, HIS WORK WAS INCLUDED IN THE THE INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF PAINTING AND SCULPTURE AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART AND THE FOLLOWING YEAR IN THE WHITNEY BIENNIAL. IN 2009 KENDRICK WAS COMMISSIONED TO CREATE FIVE MONUMENTAL CEMENT SCULPTURES FOR MADISON SQUARE PARK.
  
  
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  DANIEL JENSEN "DEFINITION AND PRACTICE"

  DANIEL JENSEN´S SCULPTURES, PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS OFTEN EXPLORE ISSUES OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY AND NATURE IN DECLINE. THE WORKS DEAL WITH SUBJECTS LIKE ALIENATION, FAILURE AND TRANSFORMATION. A PATCHWORK OF REFERENCES AND TECHNIQUES ALONG WITH MYTHS GIVES LIFE TO A SERIES OF CHARACTERS AND A PERSONAL UNIVERSE. THIS UNIVERSE HAS THE SEMBLANCE OF A DEPRAVED FAIRYTALE WHERE HUMOUR AND DEEP SINCERITY ARE ENTWINED AND UNCONSTRAINED, PLACING THE SPECTATOR IN AN ODD STATE OF LAUGHTER AND CONTEMPLATION. JENSEN ALTERNATES BETWEEN THE FIGURATIVE AND THE ABSTRACT WHERE THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS ARE NOT RELATED IN ANY NARRATIVE SENSE. IN HIS RECENT WORKS THE VOLATILE MOMENT IS LIFTED, WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY IN THE BACKGROUND HAS NOW BEEN MOVED FORWARD.
  
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  LUKAS GERONIMAS "COLUMN" (COMMISSIONED WORK FOR CELINE)

  LUKAS GERONIMAS (B. 1980 IN TORONTO, CANADA, LIVES AND WORKS IN LOS ANGELES, CA) EMPLOYS PAINSTAKING ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF CRAFT TO CREATE OTHERWORLDLY SCULPTURES THAT CALL INTO QUESTION PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF MATERIALITY AND USEFUL FORM. HIS WORK OFTEN CONTAINS FOUND OR GIFTED MATERIAL THAT IS OBSESSIVELY RECONDITIONED TO BECOME UNRECOGNIZABLE FROM ITS ORIGINAL STATE. IT IS THROUGH THIS ALCHEMICAL PROCESS THAT HIS FORMS FIND MEANING. IN 2021, THE ARTIST’S WORK WILL BE THE SUBJECT OF A SOLO EXHIBITION AT THE LOS ANGELES MUNICIPAL ART GALLERY. RECENT SOLO EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE THOSE HELD AT PARKER GALLERY, LOS ANGELES (2018); 247365, NEW YORK AND THE LANDING, LOS ANGELES (BOTH 2016); AND DAVID PETERSEN, MINNEAPOLIS (2015).
  
  
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  NIKA NEELOVA "LEMNISCATE XI" AND "LEMNISCATE XIV" (COMMISSIONED WORK FOR CELINE)

  NIKA NEELOVA WAS BORN IN 1987 IN RUSSIA, SHE LIVES AND WORKS IN LONDON. SHE HAS A MA FINE ART SCULPTURE FROM THE SLADE SCHOOL OF ART, LONDON, AND A BA FINE ART INTERDISCIPLINARY AT THE ROYAL ART ACADEMY, THE HAGUE. NIKA NEELOVA MAKES EVOCATIVE SCULPTURES AND INSTALLATIONS THAT RESONATE WITH ASSOCIATIONS OF HISTORY, PERSONAL MEMORY, AND THE RISE AND FALL OF CIVILIZATIONS. DEEPLY INFORMED BY HER RUSSIAN HERITAGE AND INTERNATIONAL UPBRINGING, SHE IS KEENLY AWARE OF THE WAY THAT MATERIALS AND ARCHITECTURE INFLUENCE OUR SENSE OF TIME AND PLACE, AND THAT EVEN THE MOST SOLID STRUCTURE IS SUBJECT TO RUIN. HER SCULPTURAL INSTALLATIONS ARE MADE OUT OF RECLAIMED ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES. DISASSOCIATED FROM THEIR ORIGINAL USE AND RE-COMPOSED IN HER NEW ARRANGEMENTS, THESE OLD BEAMS, CASTS AND WORN ROPES EXUDE THEIR OWN ORIGINAL ENERGY AS WELL AS THEIR HERITAGE.
  
  
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  ASGER DYBVAD LARSEN "UNTITLED"

  OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, ASGER DYBVAD LARSEN HAS HAD HIS PRIMARY FOCUS ON PAINTING, ITS ART HISTORICAL BALLAST AND AN EXPLORATORY APPROACH TO THE PROCESSING OF THE TRADITIONAL MATERIALS OF PAINTING. THUS, IN HIS WORK PRODUCTION THERE ARE CLEAR REFERENCES TO ICONIC ARTISTIC WORKS AND CURRENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, HE WORKS WITH ACRYLIC CASTING OF PAINT TRAYS, THUS CREATING A DIRECT FORMALISTIC LINK TO FRANK STELLA’S STRIPED GEOMETRIC WORKS.
  
  WHEN USING THE PAINT TRAY AS AN IMAGE, HE ALSO CONNECTS TO HIS OWN PRACTICE IN THE STUDIO, WHERE HIS PROCESS IS BASED ON CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION AND DESTRUCTION OF WORKS. IT IS AN OPEN PROCESS IN WHICH THE WORKS THAT HE IS WORKING ON ARE IN CONSTANT FLUX. THEY ARE CUT UP AND PUT TOGETHER IN NEW WAYS, THEY GET APPLIED MATERIAL AND ARE TORN APART AND SEWN TOGETHER AGAIN. THE CHARACTERISTIC OF ASGER DYBVAD LARSEN’S PRODUCTION THUS BECOMES HIS PROCESS, WHERE THE INDIVIDUAL WORK BECOMES AN IMAGE OF THE CONSTANT ARTISTIC EXCHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT, RATHER THAN IT BECOMES A WORK FOR ITSELF.
  
  THE STUDIO ACTS AS AN ARCHIVE WHICH HE CAN FLIP BACK AND FORTH IN, AND WHERE HE CAN SEPARATE, COMPOSE AND CONSTRUCT NEW CONTEXTS FROM INDEPENDENT WORKS, PROCESSES AND THOUGHTS. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THIS ARCHIVE IS IN CONSTANT MOTION AND DEVELOPMENT, AND THEREFORE THE INDIVIDUAL WORKS APPEAR AS SNAPSHOTS OF THE ARTISTIC JOURNEY THROUGH THE TIMES AND PLACES OF THE ARCHIVE. HE DENOTES HIMSELF AS A "POWER".
  
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  DAVID JEREMIAH "A.H.Y.F.F.A.W.D. (INTERNALIZED)"

  DAVID-JEREMIAH (B. 1985, OAK CLIFF, TX) IS A CONCEPTUAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST BASED IN DALLAS TX. HE IS A RECIPIENT OF THE 2020 NASHER SCULPTURE CENTER ARTIST GRANT AWARD.
  
  
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  MARIA LUND "HEROES"

  MARIE LUND (B. 1976, DENMARK) IS A GRADUATE OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART IN LONDON, WHERE SHE IS CURRENTLY BASED.
  
  MARIE LUND’S PRACTICE POETICALLY EXPOSES IMPRINTS AND REACTIONARY FORCES AS SHE EXPLORES THE PLACE AND MOMENT OF INTERSECTION WHERE DIFFERENT OBJECTS MEET THE EXTERNAL WORLD. WORKING BETWEEN SCULPTURE AND INSTALLATION, LUND USES A VARIETY OF MATERIALS SUCH AS TEXTILES, FOUND OBJECTS, CEMENT, WOOD, COPPER AND OTHER NATURAL MATERIALS.
  
  LUND THOUGHTFULLY MANIPULATES THESE ELEMENTS, AS THE PHYSICAL TRACES OF HER PROCESS ARE LEFT VISIBLE FOR US TO FIND IN THE FORMS SHE CREATES. LEADING US DOWN A PATH OF NEW EXPERIENCES AND NEW PERCEPTIONS, SHE DRAWS OUT THE SUBLIME FROM THE ORDINARY. IN SO DOING, MARIE LUND’S WORKS HAVE A DISTINCTLY ATMOSPHERIC QUALITY ABOUT THEM, AS IF THE DICHOTOMIES BETWEEN FORM AND CONTENT, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL, THE BODY AND THE MATERIAL, WHICH ARE EXPLORED IN HER WORK CAN BE FELT THROUGHOUT THE SPACE. IT IS WITHIN THIS TANGIBLE FEELING THAT LUND INVITES US TO EXPLORE, SHOWING US A WORLD WHICH HAS THE SENSATION OF BEING, AT THE SAME TIME, BOTH FAMILIAR AND UNEXPECTED.
  
  
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  INDRIKIS GELZIS "3 BREATHS IN A WINDY PLACE" (2021)

  "THESE ARE HARD LINES. THEY BREAK UP SPACE AND DELINEATE GEOMETRIC FORMS WHOSE MEANINGS WE CAN ONLY ASSUME. WE USE MINIMALISM NOW TO THINK ABOUT SYSTEMS—IT’S NO LONGER JUST A MATTER OF REDUCTION, OF PARING BACK TO THE CORE CHARACTERISTICS OF A MEDIUM OR MATERIAL, SO MUCH AS GENERATING A PROGRAM OR MAP, A SET OF DATA POINTS FROM WHICH SOME FORM OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION MIGHT BE PREDICTED OR INFERRED. GELZIS MAKES THESE WORKS DIGITALLY, 3D-MODELING THE SCULPTURES BEFORE RENDERING THEM IN STEEL TUBES AND FABRIC SLEEVES. THIS PROCESS—AND THE FACT THAT THE FINISHED WORKS LOOK A BIT LIKE HYPERACTIVE STOCK MARKET GRAPHS—MIGHT ALLUDE TO NEO-LIBERAL CAPITALISM’S IMPULSE TO ACCUMULATE INFORMATION-AS-WEALTH (THINK, FOR EXAMPLE, OF THE NOVEL AND EXCITING MEANS FACEBOOK INNOVATES TO PROFIT OFF ITS USERS DATA). THROUGH IT, THE ARTIST BOTH MATERIALLY CONSOLIDATES AND ABSTRACTS INFORMATION INTO PAINTINGS AND/OR SCULPTURES THAT APPEAR TO MAP SOME SORT OF DATA BUT FLIPPANTLY REFUSE LEGIBILITY."
  
  (A FRAGMENT FROM A WRITTEN TEXT BY DANA KOPEL)
  
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  DAVID NASH "OVERLAP PANEL"

  DAVID NASH IS A BRITISH SCULPTOR AND LAND ARTIST BORN IN ESHER, SURREY IN 1945. NASH WORKS ONLY WITH WOOD FROM TREES THAT HAVE FALLEN NATURALLY OR BEEN FELLED DUE TO AGE, DISEASE OR SAFETY. FREQUENT MOTIFS INCLUDE EGGS, COLUMNS, CROSSES AND PYRAMIDS; HIS WORK IS DOMINATED BY BOTH ORGANIC AND GEOMETRIC SHAPES. IN LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATIONS CORK OAK BARK IS STACKED TO MAKE TOWERING SPIRES AND CIRCLES, OAK BRANCHES ARE BURNT AND PLACED IN THE GROUND TO FORM LOW, CONVEX STRUCTURES AND CIRCLES.
  
  
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  LEILAH BABIRYE "NAJUNGA FROM THE KUCHU NGAALI (CRESTED CRANE) CLAN" (COMMISSIONED WORK FOR CELINE)

  LEILAH BABIRYE (BORN 1985, KAMPALA, UGANDA) LIVES AND WORKS IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. SHE STUDIED ART AT MAKERERE UNIVERSITY IN KAMPALA, UGANDA (2007–2010), AND PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRE ISLAND ARTIST RESIDENCY IN 2015. IN 2018, SHE RECEIVED ASYLUM IN THE US WITH SUPPORT FROM THE AFRICAN SERVICES COMMITTEE AND THE NYC ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT, AND PRESENTED HER FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION AT GORDON ROBICHAUX IN NEW YORK. IN 2021, BABIRYE PRESENTED HER FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION IN LONDON AT STEPHEN FRIEDMAN GALLERY. IN 2020, BABIRYE’S WORK WAS THE SUBJECT OF TWO SOLO EXHIBITIONS—AT REBECCA CAMACHO PRESENTS IN SAN FRANCISCO (JANUARY) AND AT GORDON ROBICHAUX (OCTOBER–NOVEMBER)—AND WAS FEATURED IN GROUP EXHIBITIONS AT STEPHEN FRIEDMAN GALLERY IN LONDON, PARKER GALLERY AND MARC SELWYN FINE ART IN LOS ANGELES, AND IN THE PUBLIC ART FUND’S ART ON THE GRID INSTALLED THROUGHOUT NEW YORK CITY.
  COURTESY GORDON ROBICHAUX, NY AND STEPHEN FRIEDMAN GALLERY, LONDON
  
  

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To date, the Celine Art Project has built up a collection of pieces from over 40 artists from around the world, including specially-commissioned works from James Balmforth, Jose Davilla and Oscar Tuazon, on display in flagship stores. And the brand’s collection reflects its values, while allowing for Slimane’s cultural dialogue to expand beyond the exacting cut of a tweed jacket, or iconic gold hardware adorning a Triomphe chain bag. This skilful convergence enriches each medium, whilst transforming the store environment into a place of perspectives, shifting discovery and contemplation.

Delve into the characteristics of Hedi’s creative vision and you'll soon discover an abiding love of art. Take Slimane' first ready-to-wear collection for Celine, featuring dramatic, ripped patchwork shapes infused with the spirit of artist Christian Marclay’s jagged, torn surfaces. Or there was the collaboration with Stephanie Busuttil-Janssen, the last partner and muse of legendary sculptor César Baldaccini, who died in 1998. César’s trademark crushed-metal sculptures from the 1970s, using old jewellery from friends, inspired Hedi’s limited-edition series of 200 silver and vermeil pendants, featured in his Autumn/Winter 2020 collection. “I was flattered by the fact that they were interested in César’s works,” Busuttil-Janssen told The Times in June 2020. “When I saw what Slimane does with the Celine collections, it felt very connected.”

Art Meets Fashion at Celine Stores Worldwide

Launch Slideshow

Art Meets Fashion at Celine Stores Worldwide

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  VIRGINIA OVERTON "UNTITLED", (2018) (NEW YORK)
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  DAVID ADAMO "UNTITLED" (2015) (PARIS)
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  HU XIAOYUAN "GRASS THORN III", (2017) (PARIS)
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  ELAINE CAMERON WEIR "SNAKE X" (2019) (TOKYO)

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While peer-group designers work with artists on specific collections - such as Kim Jones’ beautiful colour and texture-rich collaboration with artist Peter Doig for Dior menswear AW21, or Sacai’s capsule with KAWS, Slimane’s vision encapsulates the artist into a holistic creative vision. Before Celine, Slimane's black and white portraiture of cultural icons and music-loving youth captured the humanity at the heart of the individual and the communal joy in concert and club going. An exhibition of his images shot at gigs and entitled Sun of Sound was held at Almine Rech in Shanghai this March to critical acclaim, prompting peers and pundits to wonder just how Slimane - who, by the way, also conceptualises and shoots Celine campaigns - manages to power across an astonishing 360-degree creative output.

In part, this prolific and multi-faceted practice came about during Slimane's formative years at Paris's l’Ecole du Louvre, in the late 1980s, where his fascination in specific cultural scenes started to take shape. Whilst living in the style maelstrom of Berlin, he took up residency at the city's legendary KW Institute for Contemporary Art, between 2000 and 2002, where he published his first photographic monograph Berlin (2003). Later that decade, in London, he would document the city's speedy punk rock scene of the 00s, zooming in on rock'n'roll mavericks like Razorlight, The Libertines and The Kills, in his 2006 book: Hedi Slimane Diary.

Since joining Celine, Slimane has infused this historically-bourgeoise luxury brand with his unique sensibility that could be dubbed post-minimal. The seasonal presentations (whether live or digital) have a performative edge - stages are set with architectural works within which highly choregraphed scenes play out. The collections eschew conventional signifiers of ‘status’ but instead, meticulously focus on the nobility of the item, be it beautifully-faded denim jeans, a leather bomber jacket or that simple slash of style, the skinny belt. And season on season, they gently evolve, appealing to customers who wish to curate their own wardrobes, by adding judicious pieces over time.

Through the Celine Art Project, Slimane is creating an ever-expanding community of like minds, underpinned by a shared belief in the role art plays in enriching our sense of society and culture. The Project reminds us, in case we needed reminding, that the nexus between fashion, art, style and photography is a seemingly-endless mine of creative inspiration, a crucible for ideas to leap, flashing and bouncing from each other, in showers of thrilling, sparkling artistic gems.

Contemporary Art

The Celine Art Project: At the Nexus of Art and Fashion