The YSL Museum revisits floral elegance
The Yves Saint-Laurent Museum is currently hosting a double exhibition. The first one, dedicated to the cactus, takes place in the museum’s temporary gallery, where these plant icons, which number over 1,700 species worldwide, are featured in several works of art. «The exhibition, which runs until July 7 at the Musée de Marrakech, echoes the diversity of artistic and scientific expression found in different cactus regions» , says Madison Cox, President of the Jardin Majorelle Foundation. The exhibition features a large number of exclusive pieces (paintings, scientific documents, etc.). In the early 20th century, and particularly between the wars, cacti became an obsession for early modernist artists. «Their aesthetic had a real impact on the history of the visual arts, including photography, painting, and cinema», explain exhibition curators Marc Jeanson and Laurent Le Bon.
In parallel, a cycle of film screenings entitled «Scenes In America Deserta», in reference to Reyner Banham’s book, is also planned. A dozen screenings are scheduled throughout the exhibition at the museum’s film club, with free admission.
The museum’s 2nd exhibition is dedicated to flowers. This is the first time that the YSL museums in Marrakech and Paris have joined forces to present an exhibition exploring the body of work created by Saint-Laurent. The couturier was even one of the first to use the floral tradition in his creations. «He convinced the women of his time to dress in petals without risking submission to a romantic or mawkish motif», reads Olivier Saillard’s «Fleurs et Robes éphémères» (Ephemeral Flowers and Dresses). In addition to his choice of flowers, Saillard explains that his monochrome and sheath models were already silhouettes of flowers. In addition, YSL often paid tribute in its collections to modern artists, for whom painting flowers was an opportunity to practice their mastery of light and color. For example, Saint-Laurent commissioned prints from the Abraham House for dresses celebrating Bonnard (French painter, decorator, illustrator, lithographer, engraver, and sculptor), while its Spring/Summer 1988 collection paid tribute to Van Gogh by asking the Lesage House to create irises and sunflowers on fully embroidered jackets. Some models are to be discovered in Marrakech and other models in Paris until January 1, 2025.
Badra BERRISSOULE
