A symbol of French elegance and savoirvivre, Louis Vuitton has maintained close links with the art world for more than 150 years.

As pioneers of the art of travel, Louis Vuitton and his successors have forged a strong relationship between traditional know-how and contemporary design.

The arrival of Marc Jacobs as artistic director in 1997 reinforced Louis Vuitton’s ties with artists, notably through exemplary collaborations with Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami and Richard Prince.

In Hong Kong, the Louis Vuitton and Art exhibition brings this exciting story to life illustrating the creative process through installations combining works of art and archive documents.

The Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation exhibition includes “some works that reflect the complexity and energy of the host city, including a film titled “Central” by French artist Dominique Gonzales-Foerster, along with works by seven young local artists.

Selections from Vuitton’s permanent collection are also on display, including large-scale works by the likes of Jeff Koons, Andreas Gursky, Pierre Huyghe, Gilbert & George and Jean-Michel Basquiat, plus videos from Rosemarie Trockel, Wolfgang Tillmans, Ange Leccia, Philippe Parreno, Zhou Tao and Ryan Trecartin, among others.

Louis Vuitton, which is constructing a permanent, Frank Gehry-designed art foundation in Paris, is giving a preview of some of its treasures with an ambitious exhibition in Hong Kong.

A scale model of Gehry’s glass, cloudlike building is on display in Hong Kong, along with a video interview with the famous architect.

Vuitton broke ground on the project last year at the Jardin d’Acclimatation in the Bois de Bologne in Paris, and is aiming to open the foundation in 2012.”

In addition, Louis Vuitton plans to publish a book this September with Rizzoli New York titled “Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture.

Source: WWD