March 16, 2010

Art beat: Takeshi Kitano takes over Paris

Japanese film-maker and artist Takeshi Kitano has turned Paris's prestigious Fondation Cartier into a brightly coloured children's funfair

Takeshi: Takeshi — Kitano has been given carte blanche to take over the Fondation Cartier, a prestigious steel-and-glass culture outlet on Paris's Left Bank
Photograph: PR Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Takeshi: Takeshi — 'I still haven't figured out why a prominent institution like the Fondation Cartier would want to hold an exhibition of my work,' says Kitano
Photograph: PR Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Takeshi: Takeshi — The title of the exhibition can be translated as either 'kid of painting' or 'painter's kid'. It's a reference not just to Kitano's boyish side but also to the fact that his father was a painter and decorator
Photograph: PR Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Takeshi: Takeshi — A visitor takes in some of Kitano's paintings
Photograph: Jacky Naegelen/Reuters Photograph: JACKY NAEGELEN/guardian.co.uk

Takeshi: Takeshi — Kitano isn't short of fans in Paris. Over at the Centre Pompidou, a parallel retrospective of his films is being shown
Photograph: Yoshinaga Yasuaki/PR Photograph: Yoshinaga Yasuaki/guardian.co.uk

Takeshi: Takeshi — ... and last week, France's minister of culture made Kitano a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres – the country's highest artistic accolade
Photograph: Yoshinaga Yasuaki/PR Photograph: Yoshinaga Yasuaki/guardian.co.uk

Takeshi: Takeshi — These brightly-coloured works draw upon Kitano's experience as an artist, writer, actor and TV presenter
Photograph: PR Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Takeshi: Takeshi — Dharma (2010) by Kitano
Photograph: PR Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Takeshi: Takeshi — Kitano says: 'I paint for the sheer joy of painting. I have never sold any of my paintings. I'd rather give them to people for free'
Photograph: PR Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Takeshi: Takeshi — He might be starting to show his 63 years, but Kitano is determined to stay young at heart: 'Psychologically, I'm still a 12-year-old boy'
Photograph: Paul Cooper/Guardian Photograph: Paul Cooper/guardian.co.uk

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