To mark the 20th anniversary of the Espaces Louis Vuitton and 10 years of its Hors-les-murs program, Louis Vuitton presents a new exhibition by Jean-Michel Othoniel at Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing. The show brings together a selection of works that explore fragility, memory, and transformation through his signature use of glass.
Othoniel has worked with glass since the mid-1990s, embracing its unpredictability and the role of collaboration in shaping each piece. His installations balance delicacy and scale, turning light and material into emotional environments.
Highlights include Lágrimas (2002), where suspended glass forms evoke tears and quiet reflection, and Le Bateau de Larmes (2004), a found boat transformed into a meditation on migration and hope through luminous glass beads.
In the final gallery, White Wild Lei (2009) and Rivière Rose (2026) anchor the exhibition. The former draws on traditions of welcome, while the latter spreads across the floor as a glowing river of pink glass, created specifically for the Beijing space. Together, they invite a slower, more contemplative experience shaped by light and movement.
Influenced by literature and the psychoanalytic ideas of Jacques Lacan, Othoniel approaches exhibitions as emotional compositions. The result is a body of work where fragility becomes a poetic and enduring force.
The exhibition opens April 15th at Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing, with free admission as part of the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s Hors-les-murs program.
