This week, Maison Francis Kurkdjian presents Perfume, Sculpture of the Invisible: 30 Years of Artistic Creation by Francis Kurkdjian—a special exhibition and retrospective honoring three decades of the perfumer’s visionary work in the olfactory arts. With Marc Chaya, CEO and co-founder of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, the exhibition opens a dialogue between fragrance and art. From October 29th to November 23rd, visitors are offered a new perspective on olfaction and are asked to reconsider how scent is perceived.

Hosted at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France, the retrospective is a celebration of Francis Kurkdjian, a tradition-traversing perfumer who, by playing with space, light, sound, and matter, frees fragrance from its bottle and offers it a “shape” that defies commercial constraints. Curated by Jérôme Neutres, the exhibition spotlights Francis Kurkdjian’s distinctive artistic approach, one that transcends perfume into works of art.

With each piece—whether an installation, creation, or video—a new, distinct fragrance unfolds. Some scents linger in the air, while others are discovered through diffusers or blotters that visitors can take home as keepsakes of their experience. Through this immersive, multi-sensory journey, the exhibition revisits and reimagines a series of olfactory artworks and perfumed objects conceived by Francis Kurkdjian in collaboration with artists across disciplines, including Sophie Calle, Cyril Teste, Christelle Boulé, and Klaus Mäkelä.

“Working with artists helps me satisfy my curiosity about things that are beyond my range of knowledge and skills,” says Francis Kurkdjian. “These encounters have no other purpose than to push me into developing and expanding my own practices.” 

Additionally, new works will be unveiled for the first time, including L’Alchimie des sens, an immersive installation designed around the iconic Baccarat Rouge 540 perfume.

Courtesy of Maison Francis Kurkdjian