黑料不打烊

The Renault Collection was based on an unusual approach at the time. Unlike a conventional corporate sponsorship, it did not seek to purchase completed works of art. The project pursued by the firm between 1967 and 1985 was both more ambitious and more pragmatic in its aims. It sought to foster active cooperation between innovating artists and Renault, a company created in 1898, that was an industrial powerhouse in a country in the throes of sweeping changes.

Renault provided the artists with technical, logistic and human support. The adventure started with Arman, whose work was based on objects taken from everyday life. He immediately agreed to come and work at the Renault plant.  Visiting the factories and worshops, he discovered new shapes and materials.

This life-size artistic workshop paved the way for other fruitful and unexpected collaborative partnerships: Vasarely required expert input from Renault engineers on his technical questions, while Dubuffet, Rauschenberg and Tinguely found inspiration for their ironic comments on industrial society.

Although the artists who contributed to the Collection enjoy global renown today, this was not necessarily the case when they worked with Renault. This shows just how bold the project was. It made Renault a pioneer in corporate sponsorship rather than just another art collector.  Today, the public can enjoy viewing the Collection through exhibitions and loans, in the Ateliers Renault, as well as in the world’s greatest museums.