In 1961, while he was doing his military service in Tarascon, Bernar Venet produced a performance in which we see him lying in the middle of rubbish. It was the first work he claimed as art. Over 50 years after this action, the artist is occupying the Place d’Armes and the gardens of the Palace of Versailles with his “Arcs”, his “Indeterminate Lines”and his “Collapses” in Corten steel, forming a total of 8 monumental sculptures.

The book published to mark this event retraces the visual work of a multifaceted artist who, from conceptual art to public art, has left a deep mark on the contemporary aesthetic landscape with his paintings, installations, performances and sculptures, as well as his writings. The essay by the artist and art critic Brian O’Doherty analyses the contribution of Bernar Venet to the outstanding movements probing the limits of art and sculpture in our time. The polyphonic study by Bernard Marcade puts into perspective the singular figure of this artist whose extreme rigorousness in no way excludes formal freedom.

Authors: Exhibition Curator, Bernard Marcadé – Art Critic, Brian O’Doherty

Publisher: Editions du Regard
Publication:  June 2011
Number of pages: 232 pages
Dimensions:  37 x  27,5 cm
Hardcover with dust jacket
EAN : 978 284105 264 6

French only