François
Curlet

Born in 1967 in Paris.
Lives and works in Arles and Piacé.

François Curlet has been developing a body of work since the end of the 1980s in which the material world is dismantled through a poetry of the everyday. Using as much artifact as philosophy, the artist develops a strategy where associations of ideas are transformed into allegories. From the existential to the trivial, his work invites reinvention, surprise, using a vocabulary close to a joyful skepticism as much as to cynical laughter.

« Cultural hijacking, piracy and contrarian repurposing have built a reputation for a mix of wit and the poetic that assails the social, political and cultural implications of the everyday objects and readymade signifiers churned out by our consumer society. [...] The sign-objects Curlet has been producing for the last thirty years are a poetic response to the «semantic rain» that pours down on us daily in an economic dialectic combining know-how and message-massage, use value and exchange value, consumer commodity and promotional item. Sometimes redolent of the vanitas, his art of repartee plays adroitly on objects and words, lays bare hidden meanings and taboos and urges viewers down the trail blazed by Robert Filliou’s reassessment of our dependence on material things and modern lifestyles. «Objects outlast people,» Curlet explains. «We make use of them, but in the end they come out on top.»




ARTWORKS

Santon Andy 2024 Styrofoam, resin acrylic paint, wood, fabrics 190 x 130 x 70 cm	Cancel Culture 2021 Rollator, "Poo" battery charger and cable 90 x 50 x 33 cm	Trash Catcher #tiersmondain 2019 Metal, leather, wooden bead, plastic, glue, staple 100 x 100 cm
Wu Tanga 2016 Ink of weaving (liana, cotton) 102 x 196 cm	MilDo 2016 Lacquered wood, Plexiglas, guitare strings, eyelets 74,5 x 63 x 3,8 cm	Lundi, mardi 2015 Fabric, nylon, plastic, metal 57 x 69 cm (each)
Chipster #8 2015 Copper, wood frame, spray painting, varnish 120 x 80 cm	Pépito #4 2015 Copper, wood frame, spray painting, varnish 50 x 40 cm	Waffle #5 2013-2014 Copper, wood frame, spray painting 92 x 61 cm
Kroketstein 2012 2 Volvo headrests, polystyrene and rubber paint 51,5 x 31,5 cm	Panton BBQ 2012 Panton chair, steel, wood 71 x 65 x 63 cm	Vintage Discounter (Skype) 2011 Skype sign, laminated Formica table tops from the charity shop Emmaüs 70 x 87 x 7,5 cm
Abstentionnistes 2010 metal coat rack and microphone foams 125 cm (height), 50 cm (diameter)	T.V. Set 2010 Granite, marble 100 x 80 x 12 cm	Princes oranges 2009 14 polo cash-converters, coat-hanger Variable dimensions
EXHIBITIONS

Trois fois par jour Air de Paris, Paris 2019	Crésus & Crusoé MACs Grand-Hornu, Boussu 2018-2019	Frozen Feng Shui Air de Paris, Paris 2016
Fugu Palais de Tokyo, Paris 2013	Peptember Air de Paris, Paris 2008	Electricität Air de Paris, Paris 2008