Some exhibitions leave a lasting impression, others leave a lasting impression. FEMMES, presented by Pharrell Williams at Galerie Perrotin, belongs unquestionably to the latter category. Part vibrant tribute, part manifesto of boundless creativity, this exhibition celebrates the plural genius of female artists, while questioning their place in the contemporary art world. Through nearly 40 artists, FEMMES resonates like a powerful song, a declaration of love and respect, but also an urgent reminder of the need to make visible these voices that shape our times.

A committed partnership

The friendship between Pharrell Williams and Emmanuel Perrotin dates back to 2007, sealed by their shared admiration for Takashi Murakami and the effervescence of the Japanese art scene. Since then, their dialogue has continued to evolve, navigating between art, music and fashion. With FEMMES, they extend their commitment to a more inclusive and transversal culture. " Art is a vehicle for transformation. It creates dialogue, questions and inspires. With this exhibition, we wanted to offer a platform to artists who are rewriting history in real time ", confides Pharrell.

After the G I R L exhibition in 2014, a tribute to femininity and the muses that surround it, Pharrell Williams signs a new score here. FEMMES is no longer limited to a personal view; it becomes a collective exploration of the multiplicity of feminine experiences, a kaleidoscope where memory, identity and reinvention intertwine.

A constellation of talents at the heart of the exhibition

Right from the outset, the exhibition captures the eye, bewitching and deconstructing the obvious. The works respond to each other in an intuitive and powerful dialogue. The selection orchestrated by Pharrell Williams reflects his eclectic sensibility, at the crossroads of art history, design and pop culture.

Tutelary figures such as Betye Saar and Carrie Mae Weems rub shoulders with the evocative power of Zanele Muholi and Tschabalala Self, while the textile experiments of Kapwani Kiwanga and Georgina Maxim weave new visual narratives. The material, whether textile, pictorial or photographic, becomes a playground for the expression of a singular language, both intimate and universal.

The imprint of the body is omnipresent. Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe and Prince Gyasi reinvent the representation of black figures, oscillating between strength and vulnerability. Naomi Lulendo plays with fragmentation, questioning the tensions between memory and territory. In Kennedy Yanko's sculptures, steel dialogues with supple, sensual textures, blurring the boundaries between brute force and delicacy.

Textiles, long relegated to the background in the history of art, here assert themselves as a powerful narrative medium. Emma Prempeh superimposes layers of paint like strata of memories, while Thandiwe Muriu hijacks traditional motifs to question the injunctions imposed on women.

A tribute to cultural transmission and heritage

FEMMES is an ode to creative lineages, to influences that intertwine across generations. Works by Mequitta Ahuja, Joana Choumali and Malala Andrialavidrazana explore the links between past and present, weaving a sensitive cartography of archives, personal mythologies and collective narratives.

This notion of heritage also runs through Pharrell Williams' curatorial approach. As artistic director of men's fashion at Louis Vuitton, he weaves a bridge here between the world of luxury and the plastic experiments of the artists on show. The dialogue between craft, haute couture and visual art is omnipresent, notably in the works of Kenia Almaraz Murillo and Katia St. Hilaire, where material becomes a vector of history and identity reinvention.

A celebration of reinvention and resilience

FEMMES is not an exhibition about "women", but about plural, complex women who resist labels. Far from stereotypes and fixed discourse, the exhibition reveals life paths marked by reinvention and resilience.

Gaëlle Choisne's work, for example, highlights postcolonial and ecological tensions, while Lauren Kelley hijacks pop iconography to reveal its underlying ambiguities. Chiffon Thomas's hybrid sculptures question notions of gender and body memory. Each work tells a story, a claim, a need to exist differently.

Immerse yourself in a sensory and emotional space

Far from an academic display, FEMMES is an immersive experience in which the works assert themselves with an almost carnal presence. Pharrell Williams plays on contrasts and confrontations, provoking unexpected dialogues between abstraction and figuration, minimalism and chromatic explosion.

The exhibition is like a stroll, an invitation to let your gaze slide, to be surprised by a detail, a texture, a shadow. Here, light caresses sculptures by Eden Tinto Collins, while a painting by Reggie Burrows Hodges seems to absorb the viewer in a hushed atmosphere. Each space reveals a facet of the overall narrative, drawing a sensory cartography of contemporary creation.

A manifesto for the future

FEMMES is not an ephemeral exhibition, it's a statement, a manifesto that places female artists at the heart of the current and future artistic narrative. Pharrell Williams and Emmanuel Perrotin offer more than just a showcase for the works: they create a place of emancipation, a space where art becomes a lever for change.

The exhibition runs from March 20 to April 19, 2025 at Galerie Perrotin, 76 rue de Turenne, Paris.