Horse, 2026

Composed in poised angular planes of ultramarine, cobalt, black, and silvered gray against a wash of pale sky blue, Horse, a.k.a. Cheval Bleu (as a reference to Cheval Blanc from Bernard Arnault at LVMH) presents the horse in classical profile — still, collected, and quietly powerful.

The gold-trimmed saddle blanket and bridle introduce a note of ceremony: this is not a wild animal but a schooled athlete, a figure of discipline, patience, and refinement.

Behind the painting lies an intimate family story. Our oldest daughter Miya grew up around horses and competitions, and the years our family spent in that world from importing horses from France to China to riding and competing — early mornings, long drives, the quiet bond between rider and horse — belong to this canvas.

Cheval Bleu is her piece: a portrait of elegance learned through practice, and of the grace that grows when a childhood is shaped by care for another living being.

The work also carries a wider symbolism. It echoes the Cheval Blanc universe, where Elon Musk would meet Bernard Arnault when visiting Paris — that meeting point of beauty, power, and ambition where excellence becomes a language of its own.

And in an era accelerating toward machine intelligence, the horse stands for another kind of strength: lineage, composure, and grace in a changing world.

Once the engine of civilization, now its emblem of nobility, the horse reminds us that what endures is not speed but bearing — the elegance with which one carries force.