Ralentir vite

In a society that is increasingly consumer-oriented, saturated with images, and in which messages flow at a fleeting pace, it appeared essential to us to offer the public a new way of apprehending the visual world through an attempt at “slowing down time and perception”.

A theme already tackled by several well known artists of the last twenty years, the “time” that is unique to a work of art has since become a vital aspect of contemporary creation. It has brought about new relations within the art world, both amongst the public and within the museum (active public participation, temporary creations and works in progress), as well as inside the art market (bartering and donations). These early efforts appear today as true acts of resistance against the commercialisation of art.

Hailing from different cultural and political horizons (Cuba, South Africa, United States, Europe...), the artists of Ralentir vite remind us that the exhibition space is as above all one of reflection - a place where the surrounding universe can be put into “freeze frame”. Certain artists, such as the Cuban-American duo Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla and the North-African artist Santu Mofokeng, even go so far as to extend their work beyond the walls of the arts center, melding their creations with the daily overdose of signs and images found in the public arena.

This very first exhibition by le Plateau’s Caroline Bourgeois is also an occasion to view several works never before shown in France, including : Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s installation Petite, which was first presented at the 2001 Yokohama Triennial, the video work of David Claerbout, first discovered at the 2001 Berlin Biennial, David Hammons piece Phat free, presented at the 1998 Whitney Museum of New York Biennial, and an in situ creation by Michel Blazy.

Breaking away from convention, the works presented in Ralentir vite offer up a unique vision of our high-speed world - a vision that we invite the public to share with us.

Curator: Caroline Bourgeois / Co-Director of le Plateau and Chief Programmer

Jennifer Allora et Guillermo Calzadilla, Michel Blazy, David Claerbout, Sebastian Diaz Morales, Michel François, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, David Hammons, Anne-Marie Jugnet et Alain Clairet, Judit Kurtág, Santu Mofokeng et Bruce Nauman.

Ralentir vite
Kurator: Caroline Bourgeois

mit Allora & Calzadilla, Michel Blazy, David Claerbout, Sebastian Diaz Morales, Michel François, Dominique Gonzales-Foerster, Felix Gonzales-Torres, David Hammons, Anne Marie Jugnet & Alain Clairet, Judit Kurtag, Santu Mofokeng, Bruce Nauman