The final session in the series of artists in "French Window" that asked four questions about Marcel Duchamp and the collectors. We present the answers from Philippe Mayaux whoes at "French Window" artwork is discomfort but kitsch, inspired by rats and insects.
According to Mayaux the Marcel Duchamp of today is undoubtedly an astrophysicist or a neurobiologist.
Photo: Jennifer Westjohn
■Profile
Born in 1964 in Roubaix. Lives and works in Montreuil.
Recent major exhibitions include "Death to the Infinite (À mort l'infini)" (solo exhibition), centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Paris in 2007, "The Strength of Art(La Force de l'Art)," Grand Palais, Paris in 2009, and "Second Hand (Second Main)," Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris / ARC, Paris in 2010.
A: Marcel Duchamp is the Da Vinci of the 20th century.
A: The Marcel Duchamp prize was for me a sign that even work as unusual as mine can find a space of freedom and visibility, which is very good news for art.
A: The collectors influence my work in that, thanks to them, I can make a living from it. I only think of being an artist for some collectors, those who are specialists, a little like Arensberg for Marcel Duchamp.
A: The Marcel Duchamp of today is undoubtedly an astrophysicist or a neurobiologist rather than an artist. I do not believe that an artist these days can invent a work that creates such a rupture with his time, because art now adheres so closely to reality.
■His typical work in "French Window" exhibition
《Too Big》
2007
Parsonal Collection
Photo: Fabrice Gousset
Courtesy: Galerie Loevenbruck, Paris
■Relevant information
・The Answer from the artist participating in "French Window" exhibition.
- File01. Mathieu Mercier
- File02. Pierre Ardouvin
- File03. Thomas Hirschhorn
- File04. Camille Henrot
- File05. Claude Closky
- File06. Valerie Belin
- File07. Philippe Mayaux
・"French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"
・Mori Art Museum on Flickr
Images of "French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"-1
Images of "French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"-2
