ROLLS-ROYCE’S PARTNERSHIP WITH FONDATION BEYELER BRINGS ARTIST PIPILOTTI RIST’S WORK TO THE PUBLIC IN UNIQUE IMMERSIVE EVENT
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has partnered with Fondation Beyeler to present an artistic concept by internationally renowned Swiss artist, Pipilotti Rist, for the institution’s famed Summer Night’s Gala 2017, held on 16 September. Normally the reserve of Fondation Beyeler’s esteemed guests, Rolls-Royce’s patronage ensured that the installation was seen and experienced by the public on Sunday 17 September.
Visitors to Fondation Beyeler were treated to a sensorial feast within Rist’s highly complex work. Curated by Fondation Beyeler’s Director Sam Keller, the installation was created for the museum’s Summer Night’s Gala. The artistic concept which was supported by the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, is part of an initiative that sees the marque serve as a benefactor in creating new works in partnership with prominent art institutions.
Rolls-Royce will continue the collaboration with Fondation Beyeler and Rist, who is one of the world’s leading contemporary artists, to bring the installation to the marque’s global centre of excellence, the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, in the near future, providing a further platform for this extraordinary and unique piece of work to be viewed once again.
The installation, entitled Tender Roundelay, consisted of 23 kaleidoscopic projections that shone down from the ceiling on 46 round tables within the space. The work immersed guests and the entire setting – the furnishings, the plates and glasses, the food and drink – within a monumental video installation. Using footage taken from the artist’s inexhaustible archive of visual material, the work was calculated with meticulous precision to create a plethora of continually varying impressions.
The resulting four-hour film included motifs from nature, the human figure and historic dining rooms, which were imaginatively choreographed to change throughout the picnic as guests were invited to sit, eat, talk, stand and recline whilst encountering a world of colour and sensual experience. For most artists, developing an artistic concept in which visitors eat, drink and amuse themselves is a rare experience.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars commented, “From the inception of the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, we have sought to add to the fabric of the contemporary art world through a series of collaborations with some of the world’s most revered artists. This latest partnership with Fondation Beyeler and Pipilotti Rist sees Rolls-Royce support one of the most significant occasions on the international art calendar, whilst opening the work to a public audience.”
Sam Keller, Director of the Fondation Beyeler, said, “The work of Pipilotti Rist takes us into a world of wonders. The collaboration with her is wonderful. She is probably Switzerland’s best-known artist, and I am delighted that she has created this stunning and unique installation. I am especially pleased that the Public Day with Pipilotti has captivated many visitors.”
Pipilotti Rist commented, “My work ‘Tender Roundelay’ – roundelay is an old English word for round dance – is a voyage of discovery and an experiment about how, and if, the moving electronic image can also unite people when often it rather separates us or forces a group to look in only one direction. This question has interested me for a long time, while the sun is our biggest projector and our eyes are blood driven cameras.”
The Rolls-Royce Art Programme celebrates a shared philosophy with the world of contemporary art and is committed to fostering creativity. To date, Rolls-Royce has worked with leading international artists and key figures from the contemporary art world including Yang Fudong, Sudarshan Shetty, Isaac Julien, Carlos Rolón/Dzine, Angela Bulloch and Ugo Rondinone.
Pipilotti Rist’s artistic concept created for the Fondation Beyeler’s Summer Night’s Gala Tender Roundelay will be shown as part of the Rolls-Royce Art Programme at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, in the near future.
