Marina Abramovic
Pastry Portrait
October 16–22, 2017
Press preview: October 16, 6–9pm (by invitation)
Ladurée Paris Le Macaron
14, rue de Castiglione
75001 Paris
www.kreemart.com
www.laduree.com
Ladurée and Raphaël Castoriano are proud to present the Paris launch of Marina Abramovic’s Taste as the first subject of the Pastry Portrait, a collection embodying identities in the form of taste.
Conceived as a limited edition artwork, only 250 of the specially designed box of three macarons will be available during the launch (October 16–22) at Ladurée Paris Le Macaron store or at the FIAC International Art Fair. During the launch week in Paris, Parisians and visitors to Paris should know that Kreëmart’s Marina Abramovic Pastry Portrait will also be available at Colette, the Parisian boutique and longstanding temple of cool. It’s one of the last hurrahs at Collette, which is closing December 20 after 20 years.
The Paris launch comes immediately following the exclusive world debut of Pastry Portrait earlier this month in London at Ladurée in Harrods. Launching concurrently with Frieze Art Fair and Frieze Masters, the London launch received significant attention from both press and the general public. A special invitation-only preview for the press at Ladurée Harrods inaugurated the launch with Ladurée President David Holder and Kreëmart Creative Director and Founder Raphaël Castoriano on hand to kick things off. An audio work by Abramovic describing her taste played continuously during the preview and daily all day during store hours. This was accompanied by a video made by Abramovic and Castoriano featuring the artist tasting her Pastry Portrait for the first time. The short film was created exclusively for the launch event and could only be seen at the Ladurée store in Harrods. Both audio and video works will be reprised for the Paris launch.
The weeklong launch at Harrods was amplified by a number of notable other events including an artist talk with Marina Abramovic and Hans Ulrich Obrist at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery sponsored by the Fondation Beyeler and UBS; a private reception hosted by collectors Maya and Fahad Hariri at which the artist was present; and a Frieze Talks conversation between Abramovic and Tim Marlow, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy, where the artist both described the creation of her taste and delivered her Pastry Portrait to Marlow who experienced the Taste live in front of the audience.
Three Prussian Blue macarons are stamped with Abramovic’s “Coat of Honor,” her father’s family crest which represents the delicate balance between fragility and strength. The particular shade of blue of the macarons is tied to Abramovic’s memory of her parents who were war heroes. The macarons, one of which is wrapped in gold leaf, are nestled inside a pyramid-shaped box, a shape whose origin lies in freemasonry, a symbol of energy and power. Abramovic’s crest is embossed in gold on the box with her signature below. More than just a box of macarons, it is an object that represents a conceptual artwork, emphasizing the performative experience of tasting the artist.
Castoriano chose Marina Abramovic as the first subject to introduce the concept of the Pastry Portrait Collection because of her affinity for the intangible and the immaterial. Working with top pastry and macaron maker Ladurée, the Pastry Portrait opens the possibility for Abramovic to enter into a new mode of representation, capturing her history and who she is from the perspective of taste. Her body is her medium, the physical tool of her work. Working together, Ladurée and Castoriano have conceived a new way of understanding what it is to experience Marina Abramovic.
