Beat Takeshi Kitano: Gosse de peintre

“With this exhibition, I was attempting to expand the definition of “art,” to make it less official, less conventional, less snobby, more casual.” Beat Takeshi Kitano

With pleasure, humor and seriousness, Beat Takeshi Kitano has thrown himself into Gosse de peintre, an unusual project that subtly, if impertinently, alights in the realm of childhood. Entirely created by Beat Takeshi Kitano, this site-specific exhibition for the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain will be presented from March 11 to September 12, 2010. With paintings and videos, astonishing objects and settings, whimsical and fantastic machines, Kitano leads the visitor through surprises, gags, and games, all the while mocking contemporary art, experimenting with knowledges, and toying with clichés associated with his country.

A Singular Personality Filmmaker, actor, TV presenter, comedian, painter, writer, Takeshi Kitano, also known as Beat Takeshi, is a singular personality. Famous throughout the world for his films, Beat Takeshi Kitano commands an unequalled popularity in Japan as a comic and TV celebrity. Irrepressibly curious, passionate about the acquisition and passing on of knowledge, he adroitly switches genres and idioms, moving from violence to comedy, from over-the-top performances to deeply restrained ones.

Beat Takeshi Kitano
Gosse de peintre (Malergöre)