Michel François
Peigne Fin 10
2018
Comb, beeswax, wood, nails, pigment
26 × 42 cm
Unique work in a series of 10 variations, signed by the artist
Uitverkocht
over dit werk
The idea of recyclage is central to Michel François’ practice. If you look at his oeuvre, you see certain ideas, titles, images, materials and shapes reappear again and again over the last 35 years. During a studio visit, when talking about developing an edition, we came across an untitled work from 1991 – a series of wax-coated objects attached to a board by small nails – that was being restored for a collector. Peigne Fin elaborates on this idea of wax-covered forms, and consists of 10 combs from the African Matonge-area in Brussels, each dipped in beeswax and nailed to a plaster-pigmented wooden board.
over Michel François
Michel François is a conceptual artist and makes sculptures, videos, photographs, printed matter, paintings and installations. He claims no signature style but creates a web of shifting connections between his works and in each different exhibition. The titles of his solo exhibitions often point to his interest in contemporary reality, offices, domestic environments, surveillance, psychology and the police state. To cite just a few: State of Being, Urban Placarding, Expanded Bureau, Déjà vu, Theatre of Operations and Pieces of Evidence.
The meanings in his works accumulate over time and vary according to their disposition in space, or the context. In a manner similar to that of the Arte Povera artists, François uses a great economy of means to transform seemingly uncomplicated objects and materials, or traces of past events, into deeply resonant carriers of meaning. His work can be seen as an exploration of cause and effect, and the ways in which simple gestures can change the status of an object or have important consequences. A number of recent sculptural works, without immediately revealing their origins or the way they were made, invite the viewer to consider the degree to which the hand of the artist, or chance, played a role in their formation.
(Courtesy of Xavier Hufkens)
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