Following his solo exhibition, THE AWARENESS MUSCLE TRAINING CENTER, Museum Villa Stuck and Snoeck proudly presents the first comprehensive monograph on Thierry Geoffroy / Colonel. Born in Nancy (France) in 1961, the conceptual artist’s multifaceted oeuvre spans more than four decades. He is best known for his Emergency Art Formats.
»Thierry Geoffroy/ Colonel: A Propulsive Retrospective« presents 22 Art Formats, including the Emergency Room, Critical Run and Biennalist, which have been realized in institutions across the globe. Geoffroy defines Format Art as his artistic response to globalization, providing individuals with a replicable format for expressing themselves, thereby enabling them to respond to emergencies and real-world issues in the now.
Through Format Art and other ULTRACONTEMPORARY art concepts, Geoffroy has sought to address social and political dysfunctions and show how artists can find solutions. The monograph analyzes the forms Geoffroy’s art has taken from his beginnings to the present day, with chapters dedicated to photography, paintings, works with words, media-art and exhibition platforms.
Art historians and long-term collaborators of the artist offer in-depth analyses of Geoffroy’s artistic praxis: its mobility, flexibility and its constant quest to be »in advance« of accidents and his time. Accompanied by over 1.000 images, their contributions to the monograph evince how the forms of Geoffroy’s art have been carefully constructed to catalyze the message they deliver, whether it concerns identity, migration, war, propaganda, or climate change. A comprehensive chronology of Geoffroy’s oeuvre, detailing his many exhibitions and interventions at countless institutions and events, reveals the breadth and scope of the artist’s long-term efforts to awaken individuals to their true potential to act in the face of crises.
Geoffroy’s prolific output, so driven by a sense of urgency, has nevertheless persistently sought to inspire conviviality, generosity, and above all a sense of harmony. His work is strategical frontal, poetic, humoristic, self- and institutionally-critical, but also deeply personal. His irrepressible energy has fueled an art movement centered around »Emergency Art«, which questions the state of delay which characterizes contemporary art and the world around it.
The subtitle of this monograph, »A Propulsive Retrospective«, refers to the »forward looking« nature of this publication, condensing and analyzing the past, and thus enabling his oeuvre to move further forward on its mission of fighting apathy. The publication of the monograph will be accompanied by a series of international presentations and seminars intended to foster, explore and deepen the propositions, which can be found in Geoffroy’s oeuvre.