The performances, sculptures, drawings and installations by French artist Béatrice Balcou offer innovative sensory and emotional exhibition rituals that demand thoughtful attention for art.
Béatrice Balcou (1976, Tréguier, France) lives and works in Brussels. Her recent solo and dual exhibitions include L’Économie des apostrophes at La Ferme du Buisson Centre for Contemporary Art in Noisiel (2018), Béatrice Balcou x Yuki Okumura: double suicide at Kumagusuku at Kyoto Art Hostel kumagusuku in Kyoto (2018); Kazuko Miyamoto >< Béatrice Balcou at Exile gallery in Berlin (2017) and at L’Iselp in Brussels (2016); Walk in Beauty at Casino Luxembourg Contemporary Art Forum (2014); Calme, luxe et volupté at Le Quartier Centre for Contemporary Art in Quimper (2014); and Chaque chose en son temps at FRAC Franche-Comté in Besançon (2013).
Over the last few years her works have been featured in numerous group shows including Article 132-75 at Kunsteverein, Langenhagen (2019), Sculpter (faire à l’atelier) at FRAC Bretagne, Rennes (2018), Tes Mains dans mes chaussures at La Galerie Contemporary Art Center, Noisy-le-Sec (2017), Un-Scene III at WIELS, Brussels (2015), Plateforme de jeux at Centre Pompidou, Paris (2015) and Des choses en plus, des choses en moins at Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2014).
In 2018, she was laureate, with Yuki Okumura, of the French Institute’s residency at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto, Japan. The works of Béatrice Balcou are part of the collections of FNAC Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris; FRAC Corse, Corte; FRAC Franche-Comté, Besançon and FRAC Ile-de-France, Paris.
Taking time
Balcou copies other people’s artworks and takes on the role of ‘art handler’ and ‘art registrar’, as it were. She thus radically challenges our relationship with art and the way art is produced. To Balcou, an artwork is not a fleeting image to be identified or consumed quickly. In her view, the essence of art lies in the way in which we look at things, the time we take for it and what we learn from the process of looking.
Activation, interaction
In her exhibition at M, Balcou is bringing together several series of works: a series of existing 'placebo' and 'assistant' sculptures, film ceremonies, drawings, and works that will be activated within the space. These spatial and temporary installations invite us to interact with the artworks actively, understand them, become attached, take time genuinely to look at them, and to become a viewer.
Curator: Eva Wittocx
This exhibition is a co-production of M and La Ferme du Buisson, with the support of ADAGP and la copie privée.
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