Antoine Donzeaud
Antoine Donzeaud
Born in 1985, France.
Lives and works in Paris, France.
Education
2010
DNSEP with jury’s mention, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Nice, Villa Arson, Nice, France
2008
DNAP, l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Nice, Villa Arson, Nice, France
2007
Exchange program, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA
Residencies
2017
Nirox Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa
2016
La Brea Residency, Los Angeles, USA
Rupert, Vilnius, Lithuania
2011
La Générale en Manufacture, Sèvres, France
Lives and works in Paris, France.
Education
2010
DNSEP with jury’s mention, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Nice, Villa Arson, Nice, France
2008
DNAP, l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Nice, Villa Arson, Nice, France
2007
Exchange program, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA
Residencies
2017
Nirox Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa
2016
La Brea Residency, Los Angeles, USA
Rupert, Vilnius, Lithuania
2011
La Générale en Manufacture, Sèvres, France
Art history often makes progress by looking back. This reversal must be understood in it's most literal sense. When we think of Marcel Duchamp’s famous urinal, we often forget his finishing touch: a quarter turn rotation. He was surely being irreverent, but this founding movement of contemporary art also suggested that there was a way to oppose the established order other than simple criticism. Rather than just protest or ruffle feathers, he preferred (in the words of Hal Foster) ‘mimetic exacerbation’ to a head-on collision. Antoine Donzeaud’s work continues in this vein and has expanded across his various formats: deconstructed frames, screen printing on top of advertisements, industrial windows or even videos. Reversal, both the term and the act, is a kind of birth certificate to this practice. “During my last year at Villa Arson in Nice, the art school where I got my degree, about twenty of my canvases were vandalized” the artist revealed. “I was already making videos and prints so my paintings were more or less figurative, copied from photos or based on a series of gestures. First, I tried to remove the canvases and patch them. But after some time, the experience made me want to move away from painting completely so could focus on the whole. The frame and the canvas together as sculptural elements.” What followed was an initial series called "Untitled PE" exhibited at his solo show "The Moon is a harsh mistress" in the project space of the Valentin gallery (Paris 2014). In this show, the artist turned the canvas and frame around completely and covered them both with a transparent sheet.
Although he turned the canvas around and hid the image, Antoine Donzeaud doesn’t fall neatly into the category of artists dedicated to “the simple exposure of the pictorial” first described by the members of the Supports/Surfaces collective in the catalogue “La peinture en question” (Havre 1969). According to them, what reveals the painting as a sculptural object is the exposure of the materials. This prevents the viewer’s mind from wandering elsewhere –musing about the personality of the artist, his background or art history. With Antoine Donzeaud, the narration comes out of the abstract. This narration has nothing to do with a formal affiliation with art history. It takes its roots in the current life of the artist. There are no grand tales or clear reference points. There is simply the infiltration of the every day or rather the hopeless porousness between art and life accepted and welcomed as they are. Born in 1985, Antoine Donzeaud incorporates the de-ranking of source material into the creation of his work. In his second exhibit in the Valentin gallery in 2016 called "De 10h a 4h du matin", he mixed together images taken from the street, videos appropriated from the internet, pop culture and the transformative power of the white cube. Borrowing the title of the hit song "Je vis, je visser", from the rap group PNL, the artist callously likens drug dealing, the subject of the song, to the work of the artist.
Both activities are carried out during fixed hours, success depends on street smarts, an eye for finding loopholes in a neocapitalist system and an ability to escape the daily routine. In "Ordinary Objects for Common Use (Corner Couch)" he left the ready-made behind and changed perspective. Useless refuse, like sofas abandoned in the street became objects worthy of attention as soon as they were screen printed on posters. He even ordered through a website raincoats called “Vêtememes”, a knock off of the trendy brand Vêtements. It brought back the idea of the unconscious dress code suitable for punks and office drones alike. There’s no postural critique in these ready-mades. The artist’s touch remains crucial for Donzeaud who counts among his influences the great German painters Sigmar Polke and Georg Baselitz (another master of reversal), American expressionists like Robert Rauschenberg, minimalists like Carl Andre or appropriators like Elaine Sturtevant. There is a certain empathy associated with the artist in the age of YouTube and Internet memes; an openness or warmth that allows them a fluidity in their practice and methods. They are more likely to be content aggregators or archivists than inventors of form as such. However this quality, intrinsic to making art, is also useful in a range of his other activities.“When I came back to Paris after finishing school, I started to show work in my studio in Belleville working alongside a curator, Elisa Rigoulet. With the project space EXO EXO, I first had the idea to curate an installation myself, but little by little, I started to focus on the programming at the space as well.” Showing work by younger less well-known artists in Paris like Pakui Hardware, Adam Cruces or Zoe Barcza, the space lends itself to other uses as well and is open to a diverse mixture of Antoine Donzeaud’s work. It reveals itself as a network of sinuous links; fluid and immersive as the internet.
Ingrid Luquet-Gad
Although he turned the canvas around and hid the image, Antoine Donzeaud doesn’t fall neatly into the category of artists dedicated to “the simple exposure of the pictorial” first described by the members of the Supports/Surfaces collective in the catalogue “La peinture en question” (Havre 1969). According to them, what reveals the painting as a sculptural object is the exposure of the materials. This prevents the viewer’s mind from wandering elsewhere –musing about the personality of the artist, his background or art history. With Antoine Donzeaud, the narration comes out of the abstract. This narration has nothing to do with a formal affiliation with art history. It takes its roots in the current life of the artist. There are no grand tales or clear reference points. There is simply the infiltration of the every day or rather the hopeless porousness between art and life accepted and welcomed as they are. Born in 1985, Antoine Donzeaud incorporates the de-ranking of source material into the creation of his work. In his second exhibit in the Valentin gallery in 2016 called "De 10h a 4h du matin", he mixed together images taken from the street, videos appropriated from the internet, pop culture and the transformative power of the white cube. Borrowing the title of the hit song "Je vis, je visser", from the rap group PNL, the artist callously likens drug dealing, the subject of the song, to the work of the artist.
Both activities are carried out during fixed hours, success depends on street smarts, an eye for finding loopholes in a neocapitalist system and an ability to escape the daily routine. In "Ordinary Objects for Common Use (Corner Couch)" he left the ready-made behind and changed perspective. Useless refuse, like sofas abandoned in the street became objects worthy of attention as soon as they were screen printed on posters. He even ordered through a website raincoats called “Vêtememes”, a knock off of the trendy brand Vêtements. It brought back the idea of the unconscious dress code suitable for punks and office drones alike. There’s no postural critique in these ready-mades. The artist’s touch remains crucial for Donzeaud who counts among his influences the great German painters Sigmar Polke and Georg Baselitz (another master of reversal), American expressionists like Robert Rauschenberg, minimalists like Carl Andre or appropriators like Elaine Sturtevant. There is a certain empathy associated with the artist in the age of YouTube and Internet memes; an openness or warmth that allows them a fluidity in their practice and methods. They are more likely to be content aggregators or archivists than inventors of form as such. However this quality, intrinsic to making art, is also useful in a range of his other activities.“When I came back to Paris after finishing school, I started to show work in my studio in Belleville working alongside a curator, Elisa Rigoulet. With the project space EXO EXO, I first had the idea to curate an installation myself, but little by little, I started to focus on the programming at the space as well.” Showing work by younger less well-known artists in Paris like Pakui Hardware, Adam Cruces or Zoe Barcza, the space lends itself to other uses as well and is open to a diverse mixture of Antoine Donzeaud’s work. It reveals itself as a network of sinuous links; fluid and immersive as the internet.
Ingrid Luquet-Gad
Group shows at Ceysson Gallery
Ce qui emporte la décision, Paris
June 29 - July 23, 2022
Le grand détournement , Paris
June 27 - August 03, 2019
Solo Shows
2019
TBA, New Galerie, Paris, France
TBA, Les Limbes, Saint Etienne, France
2018
Old people love me, Ultrastudio, Pescara, Italy
Une décision purement pratique, Musée Vesunna, MAAP, Centre de la Visitation, Périgueux, France
Losing interest, Valentin, Paris, France
2017
Pacing with Richard, Nirox Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa
2016
De 10h à 4h du matin, Valentin, Paris, France
A thousand friends, Rupert, Vilnius, Lithuania
Hold me closer Ed it’s getting dark, duo-show with Isaac Lythgoe, The Cabin, Los Angeles, USA
2015
Hometown Blues, DASH, Kortrijk, Belgium
Raise high the roof beam, carpenters, MonChéri, Brussels, Belgium
Needless to say I have some unusual habits, duo-show with Micah Hesse, Rivoli2 Foundation, Milan, Italy
Mr. Vertigo, duo-show with Hubert Marot, La Sira, Asnières, France
2014
The Moon is a harsh mistress, Valentin, Paris, France
In The Clear, Caring, Curing, duo-show with Adam Cruces, Nam Project, Milan, Italy
Group Shows
2019
Le Grand Détournement, Ceysson & Bénétière, Paris, France
Saturnine, Chicago Manual Style, Chicago, USA
Mémoire de Formes, Galerie Michel Journiac, Paris, France
2018
Il fait toujours plus sombre en bas, Grande Surface, Brussels, Belgium
Décadence, Franklin Azzi, Paris, France
Cross the Breeze, Valentin, Paris, France
Intoto, Fondation Ricard, Paris, France
2017
Two 4 One, BWA, Zielona Gora, Poland
Inventeurs d’aventures, Villa Arson, Nice, France
Summary, Valentin, Paris, France
IOP, Jocelyn Villemont, Antoine Donzeaud, MonChéri, Brussels, Belgium
Air Switchers, Garage Larrey, Paris, France
The Plates Of The Present, So Far, Praz-Delavallade, Paris, France
2016
Show Divers, Valentin, Paris, France
GMT+0100, Platform, Stockholm, Sweden
A thousand friends part 2, New Jorg, Vienna, Austria
Dark Mimes, Ashes/Ashes, Los Angeles, USA
Body Holes, New Scenario, Berlin, Germany
Beau Lauss, Last Resort, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015
Doc 23.10-7.11, Doc, Paris, France
(Idéale) Géographie, CAC Moulin du Roc, Niort, France
Popup Monchéri, Galerie Valentin, Paris, France
What is a Bird? We simply don’t know, Galeria Nicodim, Bucharest, Romania
Check XXe, After Howl, Brussels, Belgium
Volumes, Berthold Pott, Cologne, Germany
Outrage, Cité des Arts, Paris, France
Perpetuum Mobile, Galeria Casado Santapau, Madrid, Spain
2014
The Political Failure, Galerie Valentin, Paris, France
173 East 94th Street / Chaussée de Waterloo 550, Middlemarch, Brussels, Belgium
Screensaver, Exo Exo, Paris, France
Minimenta, Galerie Bertrand Baraudou, Paris, France
2013
Contemporary Visions IV, Beers Contemporary, London, United Kingdom
Re-place, Exo Exo, Paris, France
2011
L’Art Contemporain et la Côte d’Azur, Villa Arson, Nice, France
2010
Cette année là..., MFA Degree show, Galerie de la Marine, Nice, France
2009
Bal tragique à la Villa, Galerie Carrée, Villa Arson, Nice, France
La Nuit des Musées, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, France
Ce qui emporte la décision, Paris
June 29 - July 23, 2022
Le grand détournement , Paris
June 27 - August 03, 2019
Solo Shows
2019
TBA, New Galerie, Paris, France
TBA, Les Limbes, Saint Etienne, France
2018
Old people love me, Ultrastudio, Pescara, Italy
Une décision purement pratique, Musée Vesunna, MAAP, Centre de la Visitation, Périgueux, France
Losing interest, Valentin, Paris, France
2017
Pacing with Richard, Nirox Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa
2016
De 10h à 4h du matin, Valentin, Paris, France
A thousand friends, Rupert, Vilnius, Lithuania
Hold me closer Ed it’s getting dark, duo-show with Isaac Lythgoe, The Cabin, Los Angeles, USA
2015
Hometown Blues, DASH, Kortrijk, Belgium
Raise high the roof beam, carpenters, MonChéri, Brussels, Belgium
Needless to say I have some unusual habits, duo-show with Micah Hesse, Rivoli2 Foundation, Milan, Italy
Mr. Vertigo, duo-show with Hubert Marot, La Sira, Asnières, France
2014
The Moon is a harsh mistress, Valentin, Paris, France
In The Clear, Caring, Curing, duo-show with Adam Cruces, Nam Project, Milan, Italy
Group Shows
2019
Le Grand Détournement, Ceysson & Bénétière, Paris, France
Saturnine, Chicago Manual Style, Chicago, USA
Mémoire de Formes, Galerie Michel Journiac, Paris, France
2018
Il fait toujours plus sombre en bas, Grande Surface, Brussels, Belgium
Décadence, Franklin Azzi, Paris, France
Cross the Breeze, Valentin, Paris, France
Intoto, Fondation Ricard, Paris, France
2017
Two 4 One, BWA, Zielona Gora, Poland
Inventeurs d’aventures, Villa Arson, Nice, France
Summary, Valentin, Paris, France
IOP, Jocelyn Villemont, Antoine Donzeaud, MonChéri, Brussels, Belgium
Air Switchers, Garage Larrey, Paris, France
The Plates Of The Present, So Far, Praz-Delavallade, Paris, France
2016
Show Divers, Valentin, Paris, France
GMT+0100, Platform, Stockholm, Sweden
A thousand friends part 2, New Jorg, Vienna, Austria
Dark Mimes, Ashes/Ashes, Los Angeles, USA
Body Holes, New Scenario, Berlin, Germany
Beau Lauss, Last Resort, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015
Doc 23.10-7.11, Doc, Paris, France
(Idéale) Géographie, CAC Moulin du Roc, Niort, France
Popup Monchéri, Galerie Valentin, Paris, France
What is a Bird? We simply don’t know, Galeria Nicodim, Bucharest, Romania
Check XXe, After Howl, Brussels, Belgium
Volumes, Berthold Pott, Cologne, Germany
Outrage, Cité des Arts, Paris, France
Perpetuum Mobile, Galeria Casado Santapau, Madrid, Spain
2014
The Political Failure, Galerie Valentin, Paris, France
173 East 94th Street / Chaussée de Waterloo 550, Middlemarch, Brussels, Belgium
Screensaver, Exo Exo, Paris, France
Minimenta, Galerie Bertrand Baraudou, Paris, France
2013
Contemporary Visions IV, Beers Contemporary, London, United Kingdom
Re-place, Exo Exo, Paris, France
2011
L’Art Contemporain et la Côte d’Azur, Villa Arson, Nice, France
2010
Cette année là..., MFA Degree show, Galerie de la Marine, Nice, France
2009
Bal tragique à la Villa, Galerie Carrée, Villa Arson, Nice, France
La Nuit des Musées, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, France
Press
2018
Feature, Cactus Magazine #7
Jessica Saxby, The New Paris Scene: Reclaiming a Radical Past, Elephant.art
Pedro Morais, Nouvel âge d’or des lieux d’art indépendants, Le Quotidien de l’Art #1482
Julie Ackermann, Special Paris, Beaux Arts magazine #406
Ingrid Luquet-Gad, Feature, Duel Magazine #2
Julie Ackermann, Les laboratoires de l’art du futur, Les Inrockuptibles
2017
Artist of the week, interview, lvl3media.com
Julien Carrasco, Inventeurs d’Aventures, pointcontemporain.com
Ingrid Luquet-Gad, L’avenir de l’art est dans le parking, Numéro Art #1
2016
De 10h à 4h du matin, moussemagazine.it
Margaux Luchet, De 10h à 4h du matin, jeunescritiquesdart.org
Stefano Pirovano, The ex post manifesto of the most talented art project in Paris, ConceptualFineArts.com
Romuald Demidenko, Vilnius at work, A thousand friends, newartcenter.info
2015
Judicaël Lavrador, Plasticiens, la génération débrouille, Libération, November 9th, FR
Sophie Yerly, One Message Interview, wefindwildness.com
Alain Berland, To be or not to be abstrait, Mouvement Magazine #78, FR
Valérie Toubas, Antoine Donzeaud, Folded Painting, pointcontemporain.com
Raise high the roof beam, carpenters. Antoine Donzeaud, curamagazine.com
2014
Ingrid Luquet-Gad, 3e biennale de Belleville (Exo Exo), Artpress #417, France
Julia Geerlings, Le retour de Paris (Exo Exo), Metropolis M #4, NL
Bibliography
2019
Mémoire de Formes, Beaux-Arts de Paris, France
2017
All theTime at Work, Galeria Labirynt, Poland
2015
DUST : The Plates of the present, Sonel Breslav, Blonde Art Books, New York, USA
Idéale Géographie, Classic, Paris, France
2014
Boat People Recit Editions, Paris, France
2012
Le Mans 24h, Les Editions de Janvier, Paris, France
2010
Towards a consideration of Instrumentalization, Antinomian Press, Sebastopol, USA
Vandales, Villa Arson, Nice, France
2018
Feature, Cactus Magazine #7
Jessica Saxby, The New Paris Scene: Reclaiming a Radical Past, Elephant.art
Pedro Morais, Nouvel âge d’or des lieux d’art indépendants, Le Quotidien de l’Art #1482
Julie Ackermann, Special Paris, Beaux Arts magazine #406
Ingrid Luquet-Gad, Feature, Duel Magazine #2
Julie Ackermann, Les laboratoires de l’art du futur, Les Inrockuptibles
2017
Artist of the week, interview, lvl3media.com
Julien Carrasco, Inventeurs d’Aventures, pointcontemporain.com
Ingrid Luquet-Gad, L’avenir de l’art est dans le parking, Numéro Art #1
2016
De 10h à 4h du matin, moussemagazine.it
Margaux Luchet, De 10h à 4h du matin, jeunescritiquesdart.org
Stefano Pirovano, The ex post manifesto of the most talented art project in Paris, ConceptualFineArts.com
Romuald Demidenko, Vilnius at work, A thousand friends, newartcenter.info
2015
Judicaël Lavrador, Plasticiens, la génération débrouille, Libération, November 9th, FR
Sophie Yerly, One Message Interview, wefindwildness.com
Alain Berland, To be or not to be abstrait, Mouvement Magazine #78, FR
Valérie Toubas, Antoine Donzeaud, Folded Painting, pointcontemporain.com
Raise high the roof beam, carpenters. Antoine Donzeaud, curamagazine.com
2014
Ingrid Luquet-Gad, 3e biennale de Belleville (Exo Exo), Artpress #417, France
Julia Geerlings, Le retour de Paris (Exo Exo), Metropolis M #4, NL
Bibliography
2019
Mémoire de Formes, Beaux-Arts de Paris, France
2017
All theTime at Work, Galeria Labirynt, Poland
2015
DUST : The Plates of the present, Sonel Breslav, Blonde Art Books, New York, USA
Idéale Géographie, Classic, Paris, France
2014
Boat People Recit Editions, Paris, France
2012
Le Mans 24h, Les Editions de Janvier, Paris, France
2010
Towards a consideration of Instrumentalization, Antinomian Press, Sebastopol, USA
Vandales, Villa Arson, Nice, France