Culture Chanel at the MOCA Shanghai

Curated by Jean-Louis Froment, a well-known figure in the contemporary art and design worlds, the new exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, highlights the creative dimensions of the House of Chanel throughout history. The exhibition interprets Mademoiselle Chanel’s universe through her designs, her iconic pieces and her literary and artistic inspirations. Delving into her brushes with poets Jean Cocteau and Pierre Reverdy, painters Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali and composer Igor Stravinsky, 'Culture Chanel' has been developed around five themes: Origin, Abstraction, Invisibility, Liberty and Imaginary. 

Occupying both floors of the museum space, the themes defy a linear and chronological exhibition format, but instead allow for a new approach to what constitutes the specific identity and culture of Chanel today including the designs, artwork, manuscripts and films coming together to illustrate this permanent creative dialogue between different eras and inspirations.

With its fluid and deliberately contemporary curation of around 400 pieces, including 100 on loan from museums and private collections, 'Culture Chanel' demonstrates the bold path of a brand that has always known how to express the essence of its times and that remains today synonymous with modernity. 

From January 15th to March 14th 2011, The Museum of Contemporary Art, 231 Nanjing Road (West), Huangpu, Shanghai, China