Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota has created the original artwork Universe of Mouton for the label of Château Mouton Rothschild 2021.
In her drawing, the fragile silhouette of a human figure faces gorgeous, generous nature. It is not the centre of attention, but seems small compared to the environment. It is as though the figure is holding onto the balance between nature and humans. Its grip cannot be too tight or the thread will break, nor too loose or else the cloud will blow away and the connection will be broken.
Chiharu Shiota
“When I visited Château Mouton Rothschild, I was very inspired by their relationship with nature. They depend on the weather and do not interfere with mother nature. They accept the conditions in which the grapes grow. I think Mouton is holding on to the balance of human and nature.”
The four threads represent the four seasons, setting time within the artwork’s space. While winter brings loneliness and sadness, the seeds of hope are planted in spring and grow into a summer of richness before coming to fruition in the fall. Whatever the vintage, the drinker is experiencing the conditions the grapes grew in.
“The four lines connecting the human to the environment represent the four seasons (winter, spring, summer, autumn) and all the emotions linked to them (solitude, hope, achievement).”
“It is like preserving the memory of the year in the wine. I find this very fascinating because I also believe that the objects that surround us accumulate our memories and existence” says Chiharu Shiota.
Artists
Making Château Mouton Rothschild a place of art and beauty was Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s ambition. Since 1945, the labels for each vintage of Château Mouton Rothschild have been illustrated by an original artwork, adding year after year to the unique collection of contemporary art which brings together very different artists from many different backgrounds, including names such as Salvador Dalí, César, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Pierre Soulages, Francis Bacon, Balthus, Jeff Koons, David Hockney, Annette Messager, Olafur Eliasson and Peter Doig.
Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, co-owner of Château Mouton Rothschild, is responsible for artistic and cultural matters at the estate as well as for relations with the artist who creates the label for the new vintage. He says: “I was fascinated by Chiharu Shiota’s vision, so close to the world of wine, especially in the relationship between humankind and nature, fragile and fertile, generous but unpredictable. And then there is that bright red colour, one of her trademarks, so reminiscent of new wine running out of the vats […]”
“For me the label embodies what I would call metaphorical realism: I see in it a vinegrower firmly grasping a fabulous cluster of grapes.”
Experience
Chiharu Shiota was born in Osaka in 1972 and is currently based in Berlin. Her inspiration often emerges from a personal experience or emotion which she expands into universal human concerns such as life, death and relationships.
She has redefined the concept of memory and consciousness by collecting ordinary objects such as shoes, keys, beds, chairs and
dresses, and engulfing them in immense thread structures. She explores this sensation of a ‘presence in the absence’ with her installations, but also presents intangible emotions in her sculptures, drawings, performance videos, photographs and canvases.
In 2008, she was awarded “the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists, Japan”.
Her work has been displayed at international institutions worldwide, including the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2023); Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art (QAGoMA), Brisbane (2022); ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe (2021); Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington (2020); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2019); Gropius Bau, Berlin (2019); Art Gallery of South Australia (2018); Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK (2018); Power Station of Art, Shanghai (2017); K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2015); National Museum of Asian Art – Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (2014); the Museum of Art, Kochi (2013); and the National Museum of Art, Osaka (2008) among others. She has also participated in numerous international exhibitions such as the Oku-Noto International Art Festival (2017); Sydney Biennale (2016); Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (2009) and Yokohama Triennale (2001). In 2015, Shiota was selected to represent Japan at the 56th Venice Biennale.
Charity
On the occasion of the reveal of the label for Château Mouton Rothschild 2021, Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA, in partnership with Christie’s and with the participation of Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno, is holding an online auction of an exclusive lot. All the proceeds will go to the Association Antoine Alléno, a charity founded by Yannick Alléno after the tragic death of his son Antoine to help and support the families of young people who have suffered violence at the hands of a third party. The funds will go towards setting up and rolling out a comprehensive support programme for afflicted families. The programme will provide moral and practical support, including introductions to people in similar situations and to experts who can guide and support the families throughout their journey, not only in administrative, financial and legal procedures but also and above all at a human level.
The lot comprises a unique assortment of formats of Château Mouton Rothschild 2021: six bottles, three magnums, a double magnum whose label will be signed by the artist and the family, an imperial and the only Nebuchadnezzar available to date. The acquirer and three guests will also be invited to the reveal of the label for Château Mouton Rothschild 2022, held at the estate in 2024, which will be attended by the family and the artist chosen to illustrate the label for that vintage. They will be given a private tour of Château Mouton Rothschild, followed by a tasting of wines from the estate.
Yannick Alléno, who holds fifteen Michelin stars, will also offer the acquirer and three guests an immersive experience at Le Pavillon Ledoyen, his celebrated three-star restaurant in Paris, where they will help to prepare a service with the chef and his team. They will then dine with Yannick Alléno and a member of the family that owns Château Mouton Rothschild, with a menu specially designed to pair perfectly with the great vintages from the estate served during the meal.
The auction opened on 24 November and will close at 5.00pm (GMT +1) on Friday 8 December.
Classic
A First Classified Growth, Château Mouton Rothschild spans 82 hectares (202 acres) of vines at Pauillac in the Médoc, planted with the classic varieties of the region, Cabernet Sauvignon being predominant.
The estate benefits from exceptionally favourable natural conditions, in the quality of the soil, the position of its vines and their exposure to the sun. Combining respect for tradition with the latest technology, it receives meticulous attention from grape to bottle. The wine is matured in new French oak barrels in the spectacular Great Barrel Hall.
Brought to the pinnacle by two exceptional people, Baron Philippe de Rothschild then his daughter Baroness Philippine, its destiny has now been taken in hand by her three children: Camille and Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild. True to their grandfather’s and mother’s work, all three are committed, with the same enthusiasm and determination, to perpetuating Baron Philippe’s dictum: “Live for the vine”. Almost a command, it means being there for the vineyard in good times and in hardship, serving it with skill and honouring it with art.
www.chateau-mouton-rothschild.com
Instagram: @chateaumoutonrothschild
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