JEAN MICHEL OTHONIEL

Biography
Jean-Michel Othoniel

Jean-Michel Othoniel was born on January 27 1964 in Saint Étienne. He lives and works in Paris.
He is represented by Galerie Perrotin (Paris & Hong Kong); Galerie Karsten Greve (Cologne & Saint-Moritz); Kukje Gallery, Seoul.
His works have entered some of the world’s foremost public and private institutions (Musée National d’Art Moderne–Centre Pompidou, Paris; Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; MoMa, New York; The Brooklyn Museum, New York; Hara Museum, Japan; Peggy Guggenheim Foundation, Venice; MoCA, Miami; Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris…)
With a marked taste for metamorphosis, sublimation, and transmutation, Jean-Michel Othoniel shows a fondness for materials with reversible properties. He started out, at the beginning of the 1990s, with works made out of wax or sulfur, showing them at the Kassel Documenta by 1992. A turning-point in his output came following year when he began employing glass. Working with the finest glassmakers in Murano, he explored the properties of a material that subsequently became a hallmark of his work. The delicacy of glass and the subtlety of its colors contribute to the artist’s vast project: to give back to the world some of its poetry and magic.
From 1996, he put this plan into action with works placed in the landscape; hanging giant necklaces in the gardens of the Villa Medici, Rome, and from trees in the gardens of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice (1997), as well as in the Alhambra and the Generalife in Granada (1999).
In 2000, he carried out a public order for the first time, transforming the Paris subway station of Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre into a Kiosk of the Nightwalkers, a double crown of glass and aluminum concealing a bench conducive to brief encounters in the sleeping city.
Each of his many exhibitions has offered an opportunity to experiment with the multifaceted potential of glass: in 2003, at the exhibition “Crystal Palace” at the Cartier Foundation in Paris and the MoCA in Miami, he had made in Venice and at the Centre International de Recherche sur le Verre et les Arts Plastiques in Marseilles (CIRVA) blown-glass forms that soon morphed into enigmatic sculptures somewhere between jewelry, architecture, and erotic object. The following year, in 2004, under the umbrella of the exhibition “Contrepoint,” came an invitation from the Louvre Museum to exhibit in the spectacular Mesopotamian rooms, an occasion for the artist to show his first freestanding necklaces.
If themes such as travel and memory are recurrent in all his work, they came into still sharper focus with his project The Little Ass’s-Skin Theater [Le Petit Théâtre de Peau d’Âne] (2004, Musée National d’art moderne–Centre Pompidou Collection), inspired by some small puppets found in the house of Pierre Loti and presented on-stage at the Théâtre de la Ville, Rochefort, and later at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris.
Pursuing this art of reconciling opposites, the Boat of Tears informs a dialog between the poetic and the political: a tribute to exiles, it is made out of a boat used by Cuban refugees found in Miami and covered with a cascade of colored beads transformed into enormous clear-crystal tears. The piece was shown on the occasion of “Art Unlimited 2005” in the pool at the entrance of the Art Basel fair.
He subsequently embarked on a series of projects for site-specific works, with exhibitions at the Galerie Perrotin in Paris and Miami, at Karsten Greve’s in Cologne and Saint-Moritz, in the Gallery Kukje, Seoul, as well as in shows at some of the premier institutions in France and throughout the world.
In 2011, an important exhibition held at the Pompidou Center presenting the entire gamut of his artistic practice retraced his career. This exhibition, “My Way,” was then staged at the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art/Plateau, Seoul, at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, at the Macao Museum of Art, Macao, and at the Brooklyn Museum of New York.
In 2012 an invitation from the Musée-Atelier Eugène Delacroix in Paris offered an opportunity to instigate a dialog with this studio-museum laden with history, by means of a series of sculptures and plates from his Herbier Merveilleux. This interaction with history was reiterated in May 2014 with four fountains-cum-sculptures that will be installed in the Bosquet du Théâtre d’Eau in the Gardens at the Château de Versailles. This permanent piece, carried out as a commissioned in collaboration with landscape designer Louis Benech, will surely be Jean-Michel Othoniel’s most ambitious and monumental piece to date.
Main bibliographical references:
Christophe Leribault, Delacroix, Othoniel, Creten. Des fleurs en hiver, Paris, Le Passage/Musée du Louvre, 2012, 159 p.
Pepe Karmel, Othoniel, New York, L&M Arts / Galerie Perrotin, 2012
Catherine Grenier, Othoniel, Italy, Skira, 2012, 264 p.
Bernard Marcadé, À bruit secret, Koln, Karsten Greve Gallery, 2012, 127 p.
Toshio Hara et Masami Tsubouchi, My Way, Tokyo, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, 2012, 86 p.
Jean-Michel Othoniel et Marie Desplechin, Mon petit théâtre de Peau d’Âne, Paris, Editions courtes et longues, 2011, 72 p.
Catherinel Grenier, Othoniel, Paris, Centre Pompidou, 2010, 258 p.
Bernard Marcadé, Un coeur abstrait, Arles, Actes Sud & The Monaco Project for the Arts/Othoniel Studio, coll. « Arts plastiques », 2009, 142 p.
Jean-Michel Othoniel, L’Herbier Merveilleux : Notes sur le sens caché des fleurs dans la peinture, Arles, Actes Sud, coll. « Arts plastiques », 2008, 144 p.
Christine Angot, Othoniel, Paris, Editions Flammarion, coll. « Monographies », 2006, 160 p.
Hélène Kelmachter, Crystal Palace, Paris/Arles, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain/Actes Sud, 2003, 112 p.

Exhibitions (selection)
2013
André Le Nôtre en perspective, 1613-2013, Château de Versailles, France (22nd October 2013 - 24 February 2014)
2014
Othoniel, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong, China (April-July)
2015
Othoniel, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Othoniel, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, United States
In situ projects and large-scale commissions
2013
The Belvedere at Caluire and The Lanterns of Ile Barbe, permanent installation on the banks of the Saône, Grand Lyon, France (June 6)
Jean-Michel Othoniel was selected by Jerome Sans, the curator of “River Movie”; a walking trail on the banks of the Saône dotted with works of art. This major project, initiated by the Communauté Urbaine of Lyon and produced by ARTER, will be unveiled in June 2013.
2014
The Heart of the Hôtel-Dieu, Cathedral, Puy-en-Velay, France (April–May)
Public tender awarded to Jean-Michel Othoniel by the city of Puy-en-Velay, this 7-meter high knot of colored glass shot, whose structure is derived from stitches employed by the local lacemakers, will be inaugurated in spring 2014.
The Beautiful Dances, the Bosquet du Théâtre d’Eau, Château of Versailles, France (May)
Together with landscape designer Louis Benech, Jean-Michel Othoniel revisits the Bosquet du Théâtre d’Eau in the Gardens of the Château of Versailles, creating four monumental fountain sculptures permanently erected in this historic bower. Works will commence in 2013, under the auspices of the 400th anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, and are tabled to complete by spring 2014.
Jean-Michel Othoniel took inspiration from the steps of King Louis XIV’s “belle danse” to create a piece whose swirls of gold and dancing waters will surely bewitch visitors.
(Complete press pack available on request).

List of commissions and site specific artworks (selection)
Les Belles Danses, Bosquet du Théâtre d’Eau, Château de Versailles (May 2014)
Le Coeur de l’Hôtel Dieu, Cathédrale, Puy-en-Velay (April-May2014)
River Movie, installation du Belvédère de Caluire et des Lanternes de l’île Barbe, Lyon (June 2013)
Kin no Kokoro, Mohri Garden, Roppongi hills, Tokyo (April 2013)
Noeud de Janus, Samsung Museum of Art, Séoul (2013)
Kokoro, Hara Museum ARC, Gunma, Japon (September 2009)
Peter Marino’s commissions (Chanel : Taipei, Genève, Paris, Tokyo, Londres, Milan, Hong Kong, Singapour, Shanghai, Shenyang, Pékin, Los Angeles…)
Les Grandes Colonnes ivoire, Boon the Shop, Séoul, Corée du Sud (February 2009)
La Fontaine des coeurs renversés, Musée International de la Parfumerie, Grasse (October 2008)
La Grande Croix rouge, Château de Lacoste, Lacoste (2008)
Les Larmes de Couleurs, Parvis du Collège Arthur Rimbaud, Amiens (December 2007)
Le Confident, Tramway de Nice, station Square Doyen-Lépine, Nice (October 2007)
L’Arbre aux Colliers, The Sidney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans (2003)
Le Kiosque des Noctambules, Place Colette, Station Métro Palais-Royal — Musée du Louvre, Paris (2000)

List of solo and group exhibitions
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (selection – complete listing on the website: www.othoniel.fr)
2013
Othoniel, Jewel Boxes, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, United States
Les Noeuds de Babel, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
2012
Othoniel, L&M Gallery, New York, United States
Othoniel, Musée Frieder Burda, Baden Baden, Germany
A bruit secret, Galerie Karsten Greve, Koln, Germany
My Way et Le Réel merveilleux, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan ; Museum of Art of Macao, Macao, Chine ; Brooklyn Museum, New York, United States
2011
My Way, Galeries du Musée, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, France, Leeum Samsung Museum of Art/Plateau, Seoul, South Korea
2010
The Precious Stonewall, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
Jean-Michel Othoniel, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2009
Les Noeuds de Janus, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
Un Coeur abstrait, Pavillon Bosio, École Supérieure d’Arts Plastiques de la Ville de Monaco
Othoniel, New Sculptures, Galerie Karsten Greve, Saint-Moritz, Switzerland
2008
Jean-Michel Othoniel, Galerie Karsten Greve, Koln, Germany
Diary of Happiness, Galerie Perrotin, Miami, United States
2007
Le Petit Théâtre de Peau d’Âne, 10e Biennale d’Istanbul, Palais de Dolmabahçe, Istanbul, Turkey
Le Coffre à secrets, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
2006
Peggy’s Necklace, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy
2004
Crystal Palace, Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami, United States
2003
Black is Beautiful, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
Crystal Palace, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
Lágrimas, Musée d’art moderne de Saint-Étienne Métropole, Saint-Étienne, France
2002
Pluie d’or, Sala La Gallera, Valencia, Spain
Lágrimas, Museo del Vidrio, Monterrey, Mexico
2001
Parade, Newcomb Art Gallery, Woldenberg Art Center, Newcomb College, Tulane University, La New Orleans, United States
2000
Jean-Michel Othoniel, Diputación de Granada, Palacio de los Condes de Gabia, Grenade, Spain
1999
Jean-Michel Othoniel, Sala de Exposiciones Rekalde, Bilbao, Spain
Trésors, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, United States
Jean-Michel Othoniel, PICA, Portland, United States
1998
P.S.1, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, United States
1997
OEuvres récentes, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
Jean-Michel Othoniel, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selection – complete listing on the website: www.othoniel.fr)
2013
André Le Nôtre en perspective, 1613-2013, Château de Versailles, France
Rêves de Venise, Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez, Bordeaux, France
Fragile, Musée Maillol, Paris, France
Nouvelles impressions de Raymond Roussel, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
2012
Des Fleurs en hiver ; Delacroix, Othoniel, Creten, Musée Eugène Delacroix, Paris, France
Regards croisés sur la Beauté : La Belle et La Bête, Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez, Centre d’Art du Château Pape Clément, Bordeaux, France
2011
Le Château de Versailles raconte le mobilier national, quatre siècles de création, Château de Versailles, Versailles, France
Paris-Delhi-Bombay…, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, France
2010
Métissages, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Hôtel Hèbre de Saint-Clément, Rochefort, France
Chefs-d’oeuvre ?, Centre Pompidou - Metz, Metz, France
2009
Glasstress, 53e Biennale de Venise, Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, Venice, Italy
2008
Sonsbeek 2008. Grandeur, Sonsbeek International Sculpture Exhibition, Arhnem, The Netherlands
Surreal Things: Surrealism and Design, Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain
2007
Dialogues méditerranéens, Musée de l’Annonciade, Saint-Tropez, France
Mining Glass, Museum of Glass, Tacoma (WA), United States
2006
Peggy’s Necklace, Nuit Blanche 2006, Crédit Municipal, Paris, France
La Force de l’art, Grand Palais, Paris, France
Collection of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, MOT, Tokyo, Japan
2005
Le Bateau de Larmes, « Art Unlimited », Galerie Perrotin, Art Basel 36, Basel, Switzerland
2004
Contrepoint, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Plain Sight, Bloomberg Space, Londres, United Kingdom
Braunschweig Parcours, Brunswick, Germany
2000
La Ville, Le Jardin, La Mémoire, Villa Médicis, Académie de France à Rome, Italy
Voilà, le monde dans la tête, Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris, France
1999
La Collection de la Fondation Cartier, Palazzo delle Papesse, Sienna, Italy
Passage. New French Art, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japon ; Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, Japan
Flashes. Tendências contemporâneas. Colecção Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon, Portugal
Dobles vides, Museu Barbier-Mueller, Barcelona, Spain