Pharrell Williams Curates 'FEMMES' Group Show at Perrotin Paris
A kaleidoscopic homage to Black women.
After nearly a decade, Pharrell Williams is putting curator hat back on for a new show at Perrotin Paris. In FEMMES, a powerful group exhibition, the creative polymath celebrates the enduring impact of Black women – “the artists who transform the world through the power of their hands” – through a kaleidoscopic exploration of femininity, calling on the wife, mothers, sisters, daughters, friends and muses who have shaped him.
FEMMES showcases work by 39 international artists from pioneers like Esther Mahlangu and Carrie Mae Weems to rising stars Emma Prempeh and Naomi Lulendo, and art icons such as Mickalene Thomas, Nina Chanel Abney and Prince Gyasi.
The show comes as a long-awaited follow-up to the Williams-curated exhibition G I R L, inspired by his sophomore album, at the Parisian gallery. “When we considered doing the show again, we remembered how much impact it had, and how I was able to leverage my platform. To give volume and visibility to female artists, how powerful it felt, ” he expressed in a recent conversation with Emmanuel Perrotin.
“The truth is that women endure a gravity that most people will never understand. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for women. On a philosophical level, you could say that the Black woman endures a gravity unlike any other.”
FEMMES is set to open on March 20 and will remain on view through April 25. See the full list of featured artists below:
Nina Chanel Abney
Mequitta Ahuja
Kenia Almaraz Murillo
Malala Andrialavidrazana
Jess Atieno
Seyni Awa Camara
Gaëlle Choisne
Joana Choumali
Theresa Chromati
Kenturah Davis
Alex Gardner
Todd Gray
Prince Gyasi
Leslie Hewitt
Reggie Burrows Hodges
Lauren Kelley
Kapwani Kiwanga
Glenn Ligon
Naomi Lulendo
Esther Mahlangu
Georgina Maxim
Gabriel Moses
Zanele Muholi
Thandiwe Muriu
Zéh Palito
Emma Prempeh
Robert Pruitt
Otis Kwame Kye Quaico
Betye Saar
Cinga Samson
Tschabalala Self
Kathia St. Hilaire
Tavares Strachan
Henry Taylor
Mickalene Thomas
Chiffon Thomas
Eden Tinto Collins
Carrie Mae Weems
Kennedy Yanko
