Émeline Jaret: Philippe Thomas - History / Stories of a hidden author (EN)
Philippe Thomas. History / Stories of a hidden author — Prelude.
Philippe Thomas’ oeuvre is a disappearance act, leaving as clues enigmatic works bearing the signatures of other ‘characters’. This biographical concealment continues to challenge the norms of institutions, whose functioning depend on the equivalence between singular author and assignable object. In this presentation, Émeline Jaret — a specialist of Philippe Thomas, and advisor to his estate — will outline some of the specificities and apparent contradictions of the artist’s oeuvre. Taking as her starting point Thomas’ 1988 lecture at the Museum of Grenoble, the video of which is currently on view at Jan Mot, Brussels, Jaret will discuss the main issues at stake in this artist's work.
Co-organized by Jan Mot and WIELS
Free upon registration
WIELS Auditorium
Daniel Bosser, Philippe Thomas décline son identité. Une pièce à conviction en un acte et trois tableaux, video of performance at Museum of Grenoble, March 23, 1988, 1 hour 13 minutes 38 seconds (still). Courtesy Philippe Thomas Estate.
Émeline Jaret is a researcher and lecturer in contemporary art history in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Rennes 2; member of the research unit ‘Pratiques et Théories de l'Art contemporain’ (PTAC); and co-director of the Galerie Art & Essai with Yann Sérandour. Her doctoral thesis (submitted at Sorbonne University in 2017), the first comprehensive analysis of Philippe Thomas’ work, will be published by Presses Universitaires de Rennes in September 2024.