Première monographie rétrospective (un monument de plus de 600 pages) : tout sur Thierry Geoffroy / Colonel.
This publication presents 22 different Art Formats, among them "Emergency Room", "Critical Run" and "Biennalist", which he has presented at institutions around the world. Thierry Geoffroy describes his Format Art as an artistic response to globalisation, with which he offers the individual a form that can be called upon again and again in order to express themselves, thus enabling everyone to react to emergencies and real problems in the here and now.
Through Format Art and other Ultracontemporary art concepts, Geoffroy has sought to address social and political grievances and has also shown how artists can find solutions. This monograph analyses the forms that represent Geoffroy's art from its beginnings to the present, devoting individual chapters to his photography, his painting, his language-based works, his media art and the exhibition platforms.
In this monograph, art historians and long-standing companions of the artist offer in-depth analyses of his artistic practice, that is, of his mobility and flexibility as well as his constant endeavour to remain one step "ahead" of chance and of his time. Accompanied by more than 1,000 illustrations, their contributions show how carefully Geoffroy conceives his works in order to convey and channel messages on the themes of identity, migration, war, propaganda or climate change. A comprehensive chronology of Geoffroy's work, listing his numerous exhibitions and interventions at countless institutions and events, reveals the full breadth and the continuous ambition of the artist to make people aware of their true potential for action in the face of crises.
Geoffroy's productive output, strongly determined by a sense of urgency, is nevertheless marked by sociability, generosity and, above all, a sense of harmony. Geoffroy's work is strategically frontal, poetic, humorous, self-critical and critical of institutions, but also profoundly personal. His irrepressible energy has given rise to an art movement of its own, at the centre of which stands "Emergency Art," questioning the state of "delay" that paralyses contemporary art and the world around it.
The subtitle of this monograph, "A Propulsive Retrospective," stands for the "forward-looking" character of this publication, which condenses and analyses the past while at the same time seeking to help drive forward the mission of combating apathy in the future. The publication is accompanied by a series of international presentations and seminars in which the theses of Geoffroy's work are to be set out, further promoted, explored and deepened.
Thierry Geoffroy (né en 1961 à Nancy) – alias Colonel – est un artiste franco-danois basé à Copenhague depuis 1982, connu pour ses « formats d'art d'urgence », en particulier Emergency Room, Biennalist et Critical run. Sa pratique, qui prend la forme de photographies, de vidéos, de sculptures, de tentes, de peintures, de textes et de contrats conceptuels, peut être décrite comme une réponse artistique à la mondialisation.
Inspiré par la publicité, l'agit prop, le junk art, le happening ou la critique institutionnelle, à travers un vocabulaire formel restreint, il questionne les enjeux d'un présent quotidien et intensifié.
Guerre, racisme, crise des réfugiés, faits-divers, geste banal du quotidien deviennent la matière d'exposition ou de performance collective au sein d'institutions cloisonnées dans des systèmes de classements qui deviennent caduques.
Son travail
a été présenté dans diverses institutions artistiques à travers le monde : MoMA PS1 à New York, ZKM Museum à Karlsruhe, Moderna Museet à Stockholm, Palazzo Delle Art à Naples et Kunsthalle Mannheim,musée Villa Stuck entre autres. Il a également participé à des événements artistiques majeurs tels que la Biennale de Venise, la Biennale de Liverpool, la Biennale Manifesta, la Biennale du Caire et la Biennale de Casablanca.
Edité par Michael Buhrs et Christian Ganzenberg.
Textes de Sebastian Baden, Michael Buhrs, Jonatan Habib Engqvist, Carsten Friberg, Morten Friis, Christian Ganzenberg, Elena Hansen, Séamus Kealy, Tijana Mišković, Susana Puente Matos, Marie-France Rafael, Johanne Schrøder, Inka Schube, and contributions by Mikkel Bøgh, Raphael Chikukwa, Julia Draganović, Mascha Faurschou, Åsmund Boye Kverneland, Christopher Lew, Madeleine Park, Holger Reenberg.
