Sixth in the series of artists in "French Window" who were asked four questions about Marcel Duchamp and the collectors is Valérie Belin, whose wax-like character portraits stand out even in this event. She points out how the Marcel Duchamp prize is a stepping stone onto the international stage.
■Profile
Born in 1964 in Boulogne-Billancourt. Lives and works in Paris.
Recent major exhibitions include "Correspondences Musée d'Orsay / Contemporary Art, Valérie Belin / Edouard Manet, "Musée d'Orsay, Paris, "Valérie Belin Rétrospective, "Musée de l'Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland in 2008, and "Valérie Belin: Made Up, "Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, USA in 2009.
A: For me Marcel Duchamp is the artist who was able to free art from handicraft and labor, two idea linked to the art making. Ready Made are the results of this quest for freedom. He reminds me every time that artist is first of all free. At the same time this "laziness apology" is due to his classical education. These two elements make objects formally rich and complex. Ready made are chosen by the artist for their essentially beauty and their power to evoke. I'm trying to place my work as an artist in this quest for beauty, in the quest for the Idea, considered in the platonic sense of the word.
A: I was nominated for the prize in 2004, 10 years later my first exhibition in a gallery in Paris. This prize was a sort of recognition for my art and it was also very encouraging for me. The event excited admiration and attentions and it helps me starting international collaborations.
A: Collectors are very important for the artist life and career. They support us in many ways, financially and intellectually and they guarantee our names in museums and institutions.
A: Tino Sehgal, the British-German artist: his works, which he calls "constructed situations", involve one or more people carrying out instructions conceived by the artist. The artist stipulates that there is no written set of instructions, no written receipt, no catalogue and no pictures. This means that his work is not documented in any way.
■Her typical work in "French Window" exhibition
《Untitled, from the series Modeles II》
2006
Courtesy: Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, 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. Valérie 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
