
Edmond de Rothschild and the Palais de Tokyo, an off the wall and on the seas art collaboration
While Gitana 17 is soon to have her new colours unveiled, she will still be as inextricably linked to her major victories like the Route du Rhum and the Arkea Ultim Challenge as she will to the warrior lines painted by Cleon Peterson, the American artist behind her sail plan and her mermaid figurehead. This colossal work, the first of the Palais de Tokyo’s creations to take to the sea, not only sublimated this technological jewel but also gave it an identity all of its own.
The Gitana 17 adventure, its success and its place within the Lasco Project, a Palais de Tokyo programme devoted to street art, has cemented a strong bond between Edmond de Rothschild and the institution. This new season of support from Edmond de Rothschild and the decision to take on another sizeable project with the artistic signature of Gitana 18 is a reflection of Ariane de Rothschild’s strong conviction: creation is an area of exploration, a vehicle for emotions and a space for dialogue, which transcends disciplines and time. Supporting contemporary talent through ambitious and extraordinary projects has always been a key driver for Edmond de Rothschild, as well as a signature for the Company’s values.

A new identity, a pronounced ambition
Gitana 18 is finally revealing her outline together with her adornment created by the Quistrebert brothers. A painting spanning nearly 2,000 m2 across the hulls and sails: a seemingly minimalist yet mesmerizingly complex fresco, added dot by dot like a protective tattoo inlaid into the carbon skin.
Five faces, inspired by Ariane de Rothschild and her four daughters – Noémie, Alice, Ève and Olivia – emerging from the ocean, sculpted in chiaroscuro. A virtually abstract aesthetic, with sfumato shading, designed to embrace the wind and force curves. More than a painting: a kinetic mythology. The blue and yellow, Gitana’s emblematic colours for decades, blend into the black carbon and raw materials favoured for their weight-saving qualities and enable a crossover between beauty and performance. A living work, activated by the elements. An artistic signature for a maxi-trimaran fully geared towards flight.

Verbatim
Ariane de Rothschild, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild, owner of the Gitanas
“For nearly 150 years, every boat in the Gitana saga has had her own unique story to tell. For a long time, I wanted to invite a contemporary artist to express themselves on one of our multihulls. My ambition went beyond the aesthetic gesture: I wanted to bring about a merging of worlds.
This project came to fruition with Gitana 17. We passed a technological milestone and opened up a new artistic sphere with Cleon Peterson’s work.
When I decided to launch another large trimaran, Gitana 18, it was only natural to continue the collaboration with the Palais de Tokyo. With the help of Hugo Vitrani, the Quistrebert brothers felt like the obvious choice. Their pictorial language really spoke to me in 2016, during an installation that explored the vibration of light in painting and then again, a few years later, at the heart of the winery at the Château de Malengin, where they created a series of sculptural works by the name of Vortex, echoing the amphorae of the Cuvée Ève.
For the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, they’ve created an expanding wave created from waves and faces. A wave which, like an intimate echo, reveals the features of my daughters. To whom I dedicate this new boat.”
Guillaume Désanges, President of the Palais de Tokyo
“8 years on from the original project, I’m thrilled to see the continuation and rebooting of an adventure we greatly cherish. I’m convinced that art must be made and experienced everywhere, for everyone, within the institution and beyond.
It is our mission to present the most contemporary and most daring creation to the widest audience. The Palais de Tokyo is an institution in perpetual motion: open to emerging practices, connected to what is moving, transforming and being invented. I’m also convinced that art must not just be exhibited in enclosed spaces, it must also be unveiled where we least expect it: on walls, in the street, and, why not, on the hulls of boats crossing oceans. And what finer setting for this than a giant of the seas cleaving oceans and worlds to forge deeper connections? I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to Ariane de Rothschild and her teams for enabling us to embark on the Gitana adventure once again with this new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, and for supporting the rolling out of our artistic ambitions.”