Backstage (retour de stage) — Un commissariat de Mathieu Mercier — Backslash Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: January 7 → February 25, 2012

The Backslash gallery is proud to announce Backstage, a new exhibition curated by Mathieu Mercier. The artist has chosen to put together a group of visual artists, stylists, architects and graphic designers who have worked with him in the past. Their theme is the relationship to space, a relationship expressed via the different backgrounds of each artist.

The artists featured are part of a new generation whose introduction into the world of art is often closely linked to sponsorship by an established figure. The exhibition’s mission is therefore in the tradition of the secular system of artistic instruction, even though Mathieu Mercier does not refer to a master-to-student relationship, but rather an exchange between two generations. The pieces on display will reflect the conversations and contacts he has had with each of them. He will play a unifying role within the exhibition, connecting the young artists together, and will also show some of his own works.

The exhibition is based on the relationship to objects — objects of consumption in particular — and the way they are produced. The featured works are governed by the domestic dimension they each have. Viewers find themselves thrust into the universe of private life by means of several series that reflect the heritage of artistic avant-garde movements, with a special nod to Duchamp.

The artists included in the exhibition come from various art schools in France, Italy and Switzerland.

Mathieu Mercier is a French visual artist born in 1970. He was awarded the Marcel Duchamp prize in 2003. In addition to his work as an artist, he is often asked to curate exhibitions, including at the Fondation Ricard and FRAC Basse-Normandie.

Mathieu Mercier’s work will be the subject of a major personal exhibition at the CREDAC in Ivry, opening on January 20, 2012.