IN 2019, LOUIS VUITTON INTRODUCED ITS ARTYCAPUCINES PROJECT, WHICH INVITES LEADING INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS TO REIMAGINE ITS CAPUCINES TOTE – NAMED AFTER THE PARISIAN STREET ON WHICH THE BRAND OPENED ITS FIRST BOUTIQUE AND KNOWN FOR ITS EXTENSIVE CRAFTSMANSHIP.
LIU WEI
Beijing-based Liu We is one of the most-sought-after figures in China’s post-Cultural Revolution art scene for his eclectic body of multimedia work that address various aspects of contemporary life. (He calls cities “humanity’s greatest inventions" because of all the real-life activities that take place within them. “To me, art isn’t something beautiful or luxurious; it should derive from and connect real life,he says.) Liu’s design for Artycapucines was adapted from Microworld, a lager - scale installation filled with abstract aluminium sculptures he presented at the Venice Biennale last year - intended to be a commentary on the lost mystique of the microscopic world due to advancements in technology. (His works often feature metal moulded to connote an almost kinetic energy as seen above.) “It was more important to make a bag that addressed uniqueness rather than simply beauty,” says Liu. “A bag is almost like a place to store one’s own unique microworld, even if I beauty in itself. "The silver-hued leather panels on his Artycapucines are a reference to the original sculptures – they were thermo-moulded or affixed with rivets onto the bag's exterior. Additional references to Liu's artwork include the structural Plexiglas handle – held in place with metal spheres – that adds a retro-futuristic touch.
