Not satisfied with being a successful rapper/writer/producer/designer, Pharrell Williams has now taken his art collector hobby a step further by creating the art exhibition GIRL. Located in Paris, the gallery is a celebration of femininity which features 40 artworks from artists such as Takashi Murakami, Tracey Emin, Yoko Ono, Ryan McGinley, KAWS, Terry Richardson or Andy Warhol.
For Pharrell, art has always been at the core of everything he’s done in life. In his words: “I have always mixed artworks into my music, clothing, jewellery and my entire way of life. They stimulate creativity, mutual curiosity, and simply happiness! I’m like a student when I’m with visual artists, I love to learn from them. Artworks teaches you how to live and think differently”.
The exhibition is of course not an issue without contention. His “images of women and of love, viewed from a variety of angles” have arisen many voices, just like his polemical videoclip “Blurred lines”.
Fashion photographer Terry Richardson’s piece is perhaps one of the most controversial of the show: a picture which shows a nude girl’s thighs with a strategically placed candy that says “Eat me”. But there is also room for heart warming pieces, like the artwork by Takashi Murakami of Pharrell and his wife.
The exhibition, named after his latest album, will be in the Salle de Bal (60 Rue de Turenne) in Paris until the 25th of June.
Here´s an overview of the main artworks:
What do you think – is Pharrell’s art project brilliant or do you see ‘blurred lines’?
