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bernard venet's major retrospective is about to open

▲artist bernard venet and phoenix center president gu deyu, curators jonas stamp and xiao ge at the exhibition site of phoenix center

as an important cultural project for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france in 2024, the china-france cultural tourism year and the 18th "china-france cultural spring", the large-scale retrospective exhibition "bernard venet: beyond concepts and matter" is hosted by phoenix satellite tv, undertaken by phoenix center and phoenix art, and provided with academic support by the central academy of fine arts. curators jonas stampe and xiao ge jointly planned the exhibition, and actor and artist huang bo was specially invited to serve as the exhibition promotion ambassador. the exhibition will last from september 28, 2024 to february 28, 2025. at the same time, the sister piece of the sculpture "convergence: 54.5° arc × 14" "convergence: 52.5˚ arc × 14" will also be unveiled at the phoenix center during the exhibition.

the exhibition presents 180 works created by bernard venet in various media including performance, painting, sculpture, photography, sound, film, etc.early drawings, cardboard reliefs, tubes, waste, tar-gravel, tar streams, performances in garbage dumps, black mirrors, coal piles, tar, monochrome tar, conceptual drawings, univocity, relativity tracks, tv installation stock marketthe exhibition area of ​​phoenix center covers more than 10,000 square meters, and takes the audience to comprehensively review bernard venet's important artistic career. this exhibition is not only venet's first large-scale retrospective in china, but also his largest personal retrospective in the world.

▲ bernard venet, "life is a license to die", oil on canvas, 110 x 130 cm, 1958. image source: venet foundation

▲bernard venet, performance in the garbage dump, aluminum plate print, 172 x 264 x 2.5 cm, 1961. image source: bernard venet studio

▲bernard venet, six uncertain lines, torch-cut wax steel, 253 x 580 x 15 cm, 1993. image source: venet foundation

▲bernard venet, “arcs of disorder: 9 arcs”, weathering steel, 100 x 850 x 450 cm, 2006-2022. image source: bernard venet studio

as a master of conceptual art,“change” and “process”this is an important concept that runs through the entire history of art by bernard venet. just as he emphasized the timeliness and development in many of his classic works, the entire process of this exhibition will also bring the audience a continuous and progressive surprise. since the introduction of the artist bernard venet's upcoming large-scale retrospective exhibition at the phoenix center in the special program broadcast by france 5 national television at the beginning of the year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france, the content of the exhibition has been placed in a constantly changing and open context.

▲ french ambassador to china bertrand lortholary and phoenix satellite television chairman and ceo xu wei

▲ from left to right: jonas stampe, senior curator and art critic of red brick art museum, xiao ge, editor-in-chief, vice president and director of phoenix center, bertrand lortholary, curator of the large-scale retrospective of bernar venet at phoenix center and french ambassador to china, and french art master bernar venet.

▲ artist bernar venet visits phoenix center and discusses exhibition plans with curators jonas stampe and xiao ge, phoenix center

the entire exhibition will also be divided into three stages.the first phase of the exhibition is from september 28 to mid-october, the second phase is after mid-october, and the third phase is added to the second phase in november, when president macron will visit the exhibition site to celebrate the donation ceremony of the twin sculptures to the phoenix center.

▲ the venue of "bernard venet: beyond concepts and matter" is being set up, with curator jonas providing on-site guidance (curator jonas is on the first right), phoenix center

▲curator xiao ge discusses the exhibition plan with the exhibition team (curator xiao ge is the second from the left), phoenix center

▲the installation of the exhibition “bernard venet: beyond concept and matter” at phoenix center

in bernard venet's creations,singularity becomes the key wordhe believes that most artworks convey visual information with ambiguity, which is an interpretable image that needs to be understood in context; while bena hopes that his creations can point to univocity, such as graphic images (charts) and mathematical symbols, which only have one meaning. it is precisely this univocity that allows visual language to break through the limitations of language, region and culture, opening up greater possibilities for perception, allowing more diverse people to participate in it and see the subjective, attractive and imaginative space behind it.

▲the installation of the exhibition “bernard venet: beyond concept and matter” at phoenix center

major retrospective of bernar venetas an important project born out of the china-france cultural tourism year, it also embodies the concept of integration and unity between china and france, and fully showcases the rich and diverse french culture to all parts of china and the chinese public.

▲ parabola gravity trajectory acrylic on canvas diameter 192.5 cm (framed) 2022 image source: bernard venet studio

paris centennial olympic year｜"convergence: 54.5° arc × 14"

in the 33rd summer olympic games just concluded in paris, france, a giant sculpture standing at the paris olympic aquatics center attracted the attention of the audience who came to watch the games. this is also the only super-large-scale art work in this sports event.bernard venetsculpture commissioned to commemorate the 2024 paris olympics《polymerization: 52.5° arc × 14》。

▲the installation of "convergence: 54.5° arc × 14": artist bernar venet (front row, second from right), patrick ollier (front row, center), president of the greater paris metropolitan area, and mathieu hanotin (front row, second from left), mayor of saint-denis. image source: https://www.leparisien.fr/

▲《convergence: 54.5°arc × 14》image source: https://www.leparisien.fr/

as a famous french artist, the 83-year-oldbernar venetborn in the south of france, he has lived in new york for many years. his works cover a variety of fields including painting, sculpture, and installation art. he is especially famous for his sculptures with arcs and geometric structures. his works have been exhibited in famous art galleries and public spaces around the world, including the museum of modern art in new york, the pompidou center in paris, and the tate modern in london.

▲ artist bernar venet

60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france｜"convergence: 52.5° arc × 14"

in 2024, not onlyparis centennial olympic year,still60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france,toochina-france tourism and culture year。

january 25, 2024president xi jinping and french president emmanuel macrondelivered a video speech at the reception for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france,they jointly stressed the need to take the france-china cultural and tourism year as an opportunity to expand cultural exchanges and promote mutual understanding among the peoples.

in 2024, not onlyparis centennial olympic year,still60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france,toochina-france tourism and culture year。

january 25, 2024president xi jinping and french president emmanuel macrondelivered a video speech at the reception for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france,they jointly stressed the need to take the france-china cultural and tourism year as an opportunity to expand cultural exchanges and promote mutual understanding among the peoples.

▲ january 25, 2024, reception for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france, national grand theater (source: french embassy in china)

▲ on january 25, 2024, at the reception for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france, french president macron delivered a video speech at the national grand theater

after the bernard venet retrospective in october, there will be a series of important cultural diplomacy events. among them, venet's commemorative sculpture to pay tribute to the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france《polymerization: 52.5˚ arc × 14》a grand unveiling and donation ceremony will be held at the phoenix center. this magnificent public art work is sponsored by a number of french companies and will be officially donated to the chinese government during the exhibition.french governmentandpresident macron, french embassy in chinaand is highly supported by former french prime ministerraffarinthey will personally serve as consultants. they will be present at the scene to witness this historic moment that symbolizes the friendship between china and france and write a new chapter in the cultural exchanges between the two countries.

in today's uncertain world, bernard venet hopes to《polymerization: 52.5˚ arc × 14》it can convey a message of integration and unity. the convergence of arcs symbolizes the connection and resonance of different cultures and ideas. they interweave in the air to form an open and infinite alliance, which is a deep tribute to the friendship between china and france and reflects the lofty goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind. this mutually needed force will ensure the prosperity of china and france and bring well-being to future generations.

▲ the monument sculpture dedicated by the artist to the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france will be located in the phoenix center in beijing. screenshot of the special program on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and france broadcasted by france 5. image source: studio bernard venet

in the interweaving of concept and form, science and art, rationality and sensibility,phoenix art invites you to build a bridge of cultural exchange between china and france!

bernard venet: beyond concept and matter

organizer: phoenix tv

organizer: phoenix center phoenix art

co-organizers: studio benedict venet, de sarthe gallery

supporting unit: mgm

academic support unit: central academy of fine arts

artist: bernard venet

curator: jonas stampshog

specially invited publicity ambassador: huang bo

exhibition director: gu deyu

assistant curator: hao yanan

exhibition coordinators: elena lombardo, xia shuang, bian yi, jackie mansfield

exhibition execution: jerome cavalier christophe cour zhang zilong yang cheng xu kehena angeland olio tristan giraudeau

media promotion: wang jiabei, zheng haiwen, yang fan, shanez baari, wang dongdong, zhang hongtao, li xuan, yu qihe, wang qingyang, cao yiting

exhibition design: lai chao

visual design: luo xi, lai chao, wu weihe, yin hao

photography: zhou sailan, bao haidong

sponsored by: mia bailai himalaya oriental liarde

special thanks: bicheng culture, shengu culture

exhibition time: september 28, 2024 - february 28, 2025

exhibition location: phoenix center (no. 3 chaoyang park south road, chaoyang district, beijing)