The Fondation d'entreprise Hermès and the Institut français de Tokyo are pleased to announce the exhibition Riding Modern Art by French artist Raphaël Zarka.
Raphaël Zarka revisits art history and explores acts of appropriation and reuse of ancient works. He proposes a new interpretation of architecture and art as a process of releasing new forms of energy.
Riding Modern Art (2007-2016) is a series of black-and-white photographs depicting acrobatic slides by skateboarders straddling sculptures erected in the city. The dynamism of the latent movement of these geometric works of art located in public space is suggested by the skateboarders: they evoke the energy contained in the sculpture itself, like its liberation.
In the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Zarka installed a Cycloid Ramp at the end of 2023: an outdoor sculpture that will serve as a skateboard ramp in front of Rouen City Hall. Similarly, a new Cycloid Ramp will be installed on the forecourt of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, from June 15 to September 15, 2024.
Opening on Friday February 16
