Exposition ARCHITECTURE ORDINAIRE by Etienne BOUET
Série photographique inedite OREGON PROJECT
+ Présentation du livre : Contemporary Bus Stops Design (PT)
Entrée libre
Moment convivial autour d'une autre vision de l'architecture
About the Artist:
Etienne BOUET is a french visual artist and sound designer born in Normandy in 1977. He lives and works in Biarritz. His main interests are contemporary art, architecture and photography.
His first passion is skateboarding and its world. Thanks to hours spent criss-crossing the streets of Normandy's main towns, then those of the capital and its suburbs, he developed a keen eye for analyzing and understanding the urban landscape.
Through magazines, both European and American, the future artist was introduced to the visual arts and design: in particular, through the growing notoriety of independent artists, pop culture references and the hijacking of classic works. These readings and the viewing of videos guided him towards music, which became his second passion and his profession.
He studied sound engineering at the SAE Paris (School of Audio Engineering). After that he entered the music world as a musician and technician. Between albums and tours with Enhancer, the band he's a part of, and more experimental personal projects, he composes and records for both independent and major labels (Universal Music). Connections with artists, photographers, graphic designers, journalists and gallery owners were also established during this time. He began to collect art books and to visit exhibitions. The musician became aware of his background, which inspired him to create visuals, as sound was no longer enough. Under his musical pseudonym EDA, Etienne BOUET contributes to various artistic projects (collages, logo and visual creations...). His travels in the United States, Japan and Europe, as well as his readings, helped him mature his thoughts on painting, photography and architecture. After two books as author (and photographer), including one in collaboration with Editions Eyrolles, he turned to contemporary design.
In 2016, his firstRed XV series led to an exhibition at Galerie Jacques Devos - Espace Seven in Paris in front of l Ecole des Beaux Arts. The works combine photography and painting. Architecture is also present, in a brutalist/industrial style. Flat areas of red paint signify minimalism and urgency.
In 2019, the next series in collaboration with photographer Mathieu Claudon will be more reflective... Against a backdrop of shared architectural shots, Etienne Bouet usespaint and modernist style to both erase and recreate architectural perspectives. The skater photographed in the original shot becomes no more than an effect of movement. During the development of this series, entitledUnconcrete Architects, he followed the advice of renowned art critics and gallery owners.
The series was a success, with articles in various international magazines and solo gallery shows in Paris, New York (98 Orchard Gallery) and Berlin... Initiated by his series and reinforced by a trip to Portland, in recent years the artist has concentrated on what he describes as ordinary architecture. Second-ratearchitecture and design, born of a necessity of use, become subjects in their own right from an aesthetic point of view. This guiding principle and a trip to Portugal led the author to publish his photographic series Lost Structures, followed by thebook Contemporary Bus Stops Design (PT) in 2024, about these micro- architectures called Paragem in Portuguese. This third book was launched at the Actes Sud bookshop during the opening of the Rencontres de la photographie d'Arles. At the same time, he relaunches his musical activity and turns to sound design.
Etienne Bouet is a contemporary artist in the tradition of Filip Dujardin, Boris Tellegen, Alain Biltereyst, Jeroen Erosie... His year 2025 will be dedicated to two new series: a first of minimalist paintings freely inspired by the photographs in his latest book, and a second “mixed media” series (painting and photography) on ordinary architecture...
https://www.instagram.com/edaisnotacrime/
Video: A WRONG Studio Production
Camera & Edit: Alberto Scattolin
Music: Etienne Bouet
