"Far from gigantic and spectacular, " explains Franck Scurti, " and in the context of social distancing that is imposed on us could open up the space of a critical distance, a moment of resilience that seems to me necessary in order to establish a authentic link between the artist, the work and the public during this summer ” . A postulate to the measure of an artist who has maintained for thirty years special relationships between real life and imaginary. At 55, the foal from the Michel Rein gallery is given the keys to the Nave, in other words, a monument! Precisely, rather than confronting gigantism, the artist has opted for proximity. Everything except a Monumenta at the Anish Kapoor!
Each weekend until August 23, he welcomes the public in an installation that depicts his workshop. We see cardboard panels, backs of commercial posters painted in the colors of the sky and clouds strewn on the ground, as well as other salvaged materials, which he “picked ” from the street. There is this idea of occupying a place, which was once dedicated to the home appliance show, in a time when society advocated the art of consumption. Today the world has changed. Recycled domestic waste becomes objects for composing artistic collages.
Poetic and political chaos
Day by day, 2020, preparatory study, colored pencils, graphite, receipt, 42 x 29.5 cm. Courtesy Franck Scurti & Michel Rein Paris / Brussels
In the center of the dome, Scurti stretched a wire made of small pieces of used shoelaces, frayed textiles and other materials. This vertical axis is in exact alignment with the tricolor flag planted under the steeple of the Grand Palais and ends in the center of a manhole cover. Vertigo, from the heavens to the bowels of the earth. Quite a symbol ... We also see bird cages in which the artist has placed blocks of constructivist rectangular shapes painted in yellow, blue, green and smashed cigarette butts. The structure of the cages recalls that of the monument. But inside it is ordinary life that has settled there. Franck Scurti, a man of modesty, with a bright blue gaze, who has worked his way through the vast mazes of the Palais de Tokyo in 2019, is not "afraid". This is why Chris Dercon, the new president of the Grand Palais, did not hesitate to entrust him with his lair.
From home to studio and vice versa
The public thus discovers the bare spaces of the magnificent structure (which will close its doors for restoration in January 2021) and this in situ installation in constant creation, broadcast live on Facebook. A series of images produced by Franck Scurti, like a “journal” illustrating, day by day, and the life of the workshop are published on the social networks of the Grand Palais until August 23 under the hashtag #GrandPalaisAuJourLeJour. One can also attend conversations and interventions of prestigious guests in an informal way. Are expected as friends, Jean de Loisy or Daniel Buren ...
Franck Scurti, Day by day. Free access to the Nave of the Grand Palais until Sunday, August 23, every weekend, except August 15, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. www.grandpalais.fr