Philippe Parreno
14 Nov 2014 - 15 Jan 2015
PHILIPPE PARRENO
Quasi-objects
14 November 2014 – 15 January 2015
Esther Schipper is pleased to present quasi-objects, Philippe Parreno’s 7th solo exhibition with the gallery. Philippe Parreno has often placed his works within the philosophical framework of ‘quasi-objects’ – objects whose existence is inseparable from the relationship to the context in which they are exhibited. Parreno presents a selection of objects that have appeared since 1992, that span his practice and now reappear within a new setting, their relationships with each other, and therefore their existence, markedly altered.
The speculative concept of the ‘quasi-object’ is one that seeks to radically redefine the relationship between the subject and the object. Originally devised by French philosopher Michel Serres, and then developed by fellow philosopher Bruno Latour, it questions the common belief that the world is neatly divided into two realms – the ‘human’ sphere comprising the social constructs of language and culture and the ‘external’ world made up of factual objects.
Throughout his practice, Philippe Parreno has conceived his exhibitions not as a collection of objects but as part of a scripted space, a mise-en-scène, where a series of events unfold. He has redefined the exhibition experience by exploring its possibilities as a coherent “object” and a medium in its own right rather than as a collection of individual works. For quasi-objects, Parreno has written an algorithm, a mathematical automaton, to synchronize the behaviour of the objects - the works become a network of quasi-objects that appear and disappear, act upon and, in turn, are acted upon.
This quasi-object is not an object, but it is one nevertheless, since it is not a subject, since it is in the world; it is also a quasi-subject, since it marks or designates a subject who, without it, would not be a subject...This quasi-object, when being passed, makes the collective, if it stops, it makes the individual.— Michael Serres Le parasite, Edition Grasset 1982
Philippe Parreno studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Grenoble from 1983 until 1988 and at the Institut des Hautes Etudes en arts plastiques at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris from 1988 until 1989.
Selected solo exhibitions include: Philippe Parreno, Contemporary Art Center of Malaga, Malaga, (2014); Anywhere, Anywhere Out of The World, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2013); Philippe Parreno: Drawings, Cahiers d' Art, Paris (2013); Philippe Parreno, Garage Center For Contemporary Culture, Moscow (2013); Philippe Parreno, Fondation Beyeler, Basel (2012); Philippe Parreno, Serpentine Gallery, London (2010); Philippe Parreno, CCS Bard College, New York (2010);November, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2009-10): 8 juin 1968-7 septembre 2009, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2009), May, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich (2009).
Recent curated and group exhibitions include: Solaris Chronicles, Parc Des Ateliers, Luma Foundation, Arles (until October 31, 2014); Lucius Burckhardt and Cedric Price – A Stroll Through a Fun Palace, Swiss Pavilion, Biennale Architettura, Venice (until November 23, 2014); Prima Materia, Punta della Dogana, Venice, Italy (2013); The Bride And The Bachelors: Duchamp with Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns. Mis en Scène by Philippe Parreno, Barbican Art Gallery, London (2013), The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia (2012); The Light Show, Hayward Gallery, London (2013); To the moon via the beach, conceived by Liam Gillick and Philippe Parreno and curated with Beatrix Ruf, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Tom Eccles, LUMA Foundation, Arles (2012; ILLUMinations, 54th Venice Biennale (2011); Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, with Douglas Gordon, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (2009); Il Tempo del Postino: A Group Show, curated by Phillippe Parreno and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Theater Basel, Basel (2009).
His work has also appeared in the Venice Biennale (1993, 1995, 2003, 2007, and 2009), Lyon Biennale (1997, 2003, and 2005), and Istanbul Biennial (2001). Philippe Parreno lives and works in Paris.
From November 15 through December 2014 Philippe Parreno’s exhibition How Can We Tell the Dancers from the Dance will be on view at the Schinkel Pavillon.
Quasi-objects
14 November 2014 – 15 January 2015
Esther Schipper is pleased to present quasi-objects, Philippe Parreno’s 7th solo exhibition with the gallery. Philippe Parreno has often placed his works within the philosophical framework of ‘quasi-objects’ – objects whose existence is inseparable from the relationship to the context in which they are exhibited. Parreno presents a selection of objects that have appeared since 1992, that span his practice and now reappear within a new setting, their relationships with each other, and therefore their existence, markedly altered.
The speculative concept of the ‘quasi-object’ is one that seeks to radically redefine the relationship between the subject and the object. Originally devised by French philosopher Michel Serres, and then developed by fellow philosopher Bruno Latour, it questions the common belief that the world is neatly divided into two realms – the ‘human’ sphere comprising the social constructs of language and culture and the ‘external’ world made up of factual objects.
Throughout his practice, Philippe Parreno has conceived his exhibitions not as a collection of objects but as part of a scripted space, a mise-en-scène, where a series of events unfold. He has redefined the exhibition experience by exploring its possibilities as a coherent “object” and a medium in its own right rather than as a collection of individual works. For quasi-objects, Parreno has written an algorithm, a mathematical automaton, to synchronize the behaviour of the objects - the works become a network of quasi-objects that appear and disappear, act upon and, in turn, are acted upon.
This quasi-object is not an object, but it is one nevertheless, since it is not a subject, since it is in the world; it is also a quasi-subject, since it marks or designates a subject who, without it, would not be a subject...This quasi-object, when being passed, makes the collective, if it stops, it makes the individual.— Michael Serres Le parasite, Edition Grasset 1982
Philippe Parreno studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Grenoble from 1983 until 1988 and at the Institut des Hautes Etudes en arts plastiques at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris from 1988 until 1989.
Selected solo exhibitions include: Philippe Parreno, Contemporary Art Center of Malaga, Malaga, (2014); Anywhere, Anywhere Out of The World, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2013); Philippe Parreno: Drawings, Cahiers d' Art, Paris (2013); Philippe Parreno, Garage Center For Contemporary Culture, Moscow (2013); Philippe Parreno, Fondation Beyeler, Basel (2012); Philippe Parreno, Serpentine Gallery, London (2010); Philippe Parreno, CCS Bard College, New York (2010);November, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2009-10): 8 juin 1968-7 septembre 2009, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2009), May, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich (2009).
Recent curated and group exhibitions include: Solaris Chronicles, Parc Des Ateliers, Luma Foundation, Arles (until October 31, 2014); Lucius Burckhardt and Cedric Price – A Stroll Through a Fun Palace, Swiss Pavilion, Biennale Architettura, Venice (until November 23, 2014); Prima Materia, Punta della Dogana, Venice, Italy (2013); The Bride And The Bachelors: Duchamp with Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns. Mis en Scène by Philippe Parreno, Barbican Art Gallery, London (2013), The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia (2012); The Light Show, Hayward Gallery, London (2013); To the moon via the beach, conceived by Liam Gillick and Philippe Parreno and curated with Beatrix Ruf, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Tom Eccles, LUMA Foundation, Arles (2012; ILLUMinations, 54th Venice Biennale (2011); Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, with Douglas Gordon, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (2009); Il Tempo del Postino: A Group Show, curated by Phillippe Parreno and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Theater Basel, Basel (2009).
His work has also appeared in the Venice Biennale (1993, 1995, 2003, 2007, and 2009), Lyon Biennale (1997, 2003, and 2005), and Istanbul Biennial (2001). Philippe Parreno lives and works in Paris.
From November 15 through December 2014 Philippe Parreno’s exhibition How Can We Tell the Dancers from the Dance will be on view at the Schinkel Pavillon.