Once Upon A Time: Christian Dior fashion show in Paris

Robert Wilson designed the scenography and staging for the Dior Women Ready-to-wear Winter 2025-2026 Collection. It was presented live in Paris at the Tuileries Garden on March 4, 2025.

“Maria Grazia asked me to stage the [Dior] fashion show, and we talked about it being loosely based on Virginia Woolf’s Orlando. Orlando is a journey that takes us to foreign lands, landscapes of ice and landscapes of fire. I divided this work into five acts. I worked with sound, I worked with light. Light is what creates space. Light is what helps us hear and see. I am not trying to tell a story. It is something that we experience, with the freedom to think and dream.”

— Robert Wilson

Robert Wilson and Maria Grazia Chiuri (Photograph: Laura Sciacovelli)

Robert Wilson’s Scenography for ONCE UPON A TIME - © Christian Dior Couture

Click here for a full photo documentation of the production.

“... the most mesmerizing show—or rather, performance—of the international runway season so far.”

— Godfrey Deeny / Fashion Network

• VOGUE: “Dior Initiates a Dialogue Between Past and Present for Its Fall-Winter 2025-2026 Show” by Héloïse Salessy (French original version here)

• Fashion Network: “Dior: Orlando in the Tuileries” by Godfrey Deeny

• HERO Magazine: “Dior was a theatrical tribute to the house’s iconic 90s” by Barry Pierce

Teaser / RW Interview for ONCE UPON A TIME - © Christian Dior Couture

Mary and Victoria: Two Wilson Queens in New York

Tonight, Feb. 27, at NYU’s Skirball Theater, Mary Said What She Said, the stirring monologue, performed by French icon Isabelle Huppert, and produced by the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris and EDM Productions, will make its long-awaited New York debut. Additional performances on Feb. 28, Mar. 1 (2x) and 2. For more information and tickets, please click here.

Another queen from Robert Wilson’s theatrical cosmos, Victoria, will make an appearance at Raisonné (16 Crosby Street), in the shape of a version of the “Queen Victoria Café Chair.” For his 1974 play A Letter for Queen Victoria, ten café chairs were made from industrial materials. Now, Wilson and Raisonné present an exclusive edition of ten Queen Victoria Café Chairs, reimagined in polished brass and plated steel.

And what’s more, this spring, Raisonné will publish the book “Robert Wilson Chairs,” a comprehensive volume featuring all of Wilson’s chair designs, including several works never previously exhibited. The book can be pre-ordered from artbook.

In memoriam Marianne Faithfull (12/29/1946 – 1/30/2025)

Marianne Faithfull as Pegleg in THE BLACK RIDER (London, 2004) - “The Last Rose of Summer”

Michelangelo and "The Night Before"

The 2025 edition of the “Salone del Mobile.Milano” is partnering with the international lighting exhibition “Euroluce.” Robert Wilson will not only curate and design the opening gala at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan - entitled The Night Before—Objects, Chairs, Opera - but also create a vision of Michelangelo’s sculpture “Pietà Rondanini” in its own dedicated space: the “Spanish Hospital” at Sforzesco Castle. This work, entitled MOTHER, will be accompanied by the sounds of Arvo Pärt’s masterful “Stabat Mater.” - We will publish dates, opening hours and links to the venues on our Calendar as soon as they are released.

https://www.salonemilano.it/en/articles/preview-salone-del-mobile-2025-robert-wilson-lights-michelangelos-pieta-rondanini

Robert Wilson visiting the Pietà Rondanini in Milan.

Happy Holidays 2024-2025

Scene from PESSOA—Since I’ve Been Me (Photograph © Lucie Jansch)

Gao Xingjian and Robert Wilson at Barcelona's #LoopFestival2024

For the 2024 edition of LOOP Festival Barcelona, Robert Wilson’s Video Portrait of Gao Xingjian (HF Video, 2005), writer and 2000 Nobel Laureate in Literature, enters a visual dialogue with a work by Xingjian himself, “Lumière” (Ink on canvas, 2015). Complemented by Wilson’s “Messiah” drawings (Charcoal on paper, 2020), the exhibition at galeria SENDA invites the viewer to an experience of slow and reflective contemplation. In a world of rapid stimuli and fleeting images, it forces us to stop, to feel each small gesture, to observe and to appreciate the power of subtlety in art.

This Weekend: The Auction is Back at the Watermill Center Summer Benefit

Come and celebrate and support the arts at The Watermill Center’s Annual Summer Benefit and Auction this Saturday July 27! Discover a unique collection of artworks from celebrated artists Vija Celmins, Roni Horn, Jacqueline Humphries, Shirin Neshat, Robert Longo, Kikuo Saito, and Robert Wilson. All auction proceeds directly support The Watermill Center's Artist-in-Residence program. Since 2006, this initiative has provided artists from around the globe with the resources to innovate and excel. Your participation helps sustain an environment where artists can thrive and interact with the community, enriching their work and fostering professional growth.

Please note that attendance at the gala, where the live auction will take place during dinner, requires the purchase of tickets. Secure your spot now to join us for this remarkable evening: Click Here For Summer Benefit Tickets.

KIKUO SAITO

Spanish Chair II, 2008; Oil on canvas; 40 1/4 x 59 3/4 inches (102.2 x 151.8 cm)

Kikuo Saito (1939-2016) was a Japanese-American painter, sculptor, and theater designer known for his vibrant abstract canvases and lyrical use of color. Saito's works often combine elements of painting and performance, reflecting his background in theater. His art is characterized by bold brushstrokes, dynamic compositions, and a vibrant palette, evoking a sense of movement and emotion. Saito was also a close collaborator of Robert Wilson, contributing his artistic vision to several of Wilson's avant-garde theater productions, including "Deafman Glance" and "A Letter for Queen Victoria." Their collaboration melded visual art and theater, creating immersive and innovative stage environments. (Image courtesy of Kikuo Saito)

ROBERT WILSON

Vessel, 1994-2005; 15 H x 14 dia inches (38.1 H x 35.6 dia cm)

Born in Waco, Texas, Robert Wilson (b. 1941) is among the world’s foremost theater and visual artists. His works for the stage unconventionally integrate a wide variety of artistic media, including dance, movement, lighting, sculpture, music and text. His images are aesthetically striking and emotionally charged, and his productions have earned the acclaim of audiences and critics worldwide. Works made at CIRVA, International Centre for Glass and Plastic Arts Research, in Marseille, France.

ROBERT LONGO

Untitled (After Velazquez, Mars 1640-1642), 2008; Graphite and charcoal on paper; 7 1/2 x 4 inches (19.1 x 10.2 cm); 25 x 20 5/8 x 13/16 inches framed (63.5 x 52.4 x 2.1 cm)

Robert Longo (b. 1953) is an American artist and filmmaker recognized for his large-scale, hyper realistic charcoal drawings. Longo gained prominence in the 1980s with his "Men in the Cities" series, depicting sharply dressed figures in dynamic, almost convulsive poses. His work often addresses themes of power, violence, and media influence, exploring the impact of contemporary culture and politics on society. (Image courtesy of Robert Longo's Studio)

VIJA CELMINS

Saturn Stamps, 1995; Offset lithograph; 12 3/16 x 9 3/8 inches (30.9 x 23.8 cm); Printed and published by Richard Anderson Fine Art, New York

Vija Celmins (b. 1938) is a Latvian-American artist celebrated for her meticulous drawings and paintings of natural phenomena such as ocean waves, starry skies, and desert floors. Celmins' work is characterized by its photorealistic detail and meditative quality, capturing the vastness and intricacy of the natural world. Her art reflects a deep fascination with texture, light, and space. Celmins, along with Robert Wilson, won the prestigious Japanese Praemium Imperiale award, highlighting her significant contribution to the arts. (Image courtesy of Vija Celmins Studio)

SHIRIN NESHAT

Women Without Men (Untitled #2), 2004; C-print; 46 1/4 x 61 5/8 inches (117.5 x 156.5 cm); 49 1/2 x 64 3/4 inches framed (125.7 x 164.5 cm); Edition of 5 + 1 AP

Shirin Neshat (b. 1957) is an Iranian-born artist and filmmaker renowned for her evocative photographs and video installations that explore themes of gender, identity, and power. Neshat's work often focuses on the experiences of women in Islamic societies, blending personal narratives with broader socio-political commentary. Her visually striking and emotionally powerful pieces challenge viewers to confront cultural stereotypes and injustices. In 2011, Neshat was an Artist in Residence at The Watermill Center, a laboratory for the arts and humanities that annually hosts a new community of international artists, where she further developed her distinctive artistic voice. (Image courtesy of Shirin Neshat Studio)

Please note that attendance at the gala, where the live auction will take place during dinner, requires the purchase of tickets. Secure your spot now to join us for this remarkable evening: Click Here For Summer Benefit Tickets.