Pinault art exhibit to reveal his darker side

Admirers of luxury brands such as Gucci and Balenciaga will soon be able to judge the art collection of the family business patriarch behind the French fashion houses.

Francois Pinault, founder of luxury retail holding group Kering, has announced an upcoming exhibition in Paris, where he will display 50 works from his collection, by 22 artists.

Pinault is one of the most prolific art collectors in the world.

Held in the Conciergerie – a building dating from medieval times on Ile de la Cite on the Seine – the exhibition will explore themes of imprisonment, war, terrorism, phobia and madness.

The Conciergerie (pictured, right) is an apt choice of setting given the collection’s subject matter. It was formerly a prison and housed hundred of prisoners during the French Revolution – the most famous, of course, being Marie Antoinette.

Execution was so inevitable for prisoners awaiting trial the Conciergerie was grimly nicknamed the "antechamber to the guillotine".

It will be the first time many of the works have been publicly displayed, and will feature art by British conceptual artist Damien Hirst, American installation artist Diana Thater and French painter Raphaelle Ricol among others.

The exhibition will be curated by the Centre de Monuments Nationaux, and will run from 21 October to 6 January 2014. 

Images copyrighted to Maurice Aeschimann, Onex/ Philippe Berthe, CMN