Icons and contemporary art

Wim Delvoye (Wervik, 1965) is a Belgian multidisciplinary artist, known for his humor, his taste for technological experimentation, and his rich and varied production. He divides his time between Ghent and London. A keen observer of his time, he constantly scrutinizes future trends, while cultivating strong links with the past and its traditions. His works are often born of a meeting between craftsmanship and the most sophisticated industrial manufacturing techniques, playing on the counter-uses and contrasts that our hyper-connected societies cultivate, where the real and the virtual tend more and more to merge. His art does not fail to provoke regular debates and protests, when for example he mixes images of raw sexuality in a reconstructed gothic chapel, or when he has pigs tattooed in China.

Henri Loyrette (Neuilly-sur-Seine, 1952) is a curator and art historian. In 1975, he became curator of the Museums of France and was resident at the Académie de France in Rome until 1977. In 1978, he became curator at the Musée d’Orsay, where he was appointed director in 1994, until 2001. A specialist in 19th century painting and architecture, he organized a large number of exhibitions, most often devoted to the European Impressionists. Henri Loyrette has held various prominent positions in French cultural institutions, including, from 2001 to 2013, that of President and Director of the Louvre Museum. He led the opening of the Louvre Lens in 2012 and chairs the scientific council of Agence France-Muséums, which is coordinating the project to create the Louvre Abu Dhabi.