Chatelus, the Poetics of Ruin

Chatelus, the Poetics of Ruin
#Exhibitions
Anonymous (Pastime Novelty Company), Kaloma, Alleged portrait of Joséphine Marcus Earp, Around 1914 | Courtesy © Centre Pompidou, Mnam-Cacci/Janeth Rodriguez-Garcia/DIST. Grandpalaisrmn

Jean Chatelus, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 82, was a famous French historian. In addition to his academic career, Chatelus amassed a unique art collection over the course of his life, nearly 400 pieces - sculptures, installations, paintings, photographs, drawings, votive and vernacular objects - that revolve around the themes of the body, death, and the ephemeral nature of life. His collecting often seems to reveal a restless and insatiable soul, a “serial accumulator” who nevertheless puts together works collected over the course of his life, with passion and curiosity, that reflect different aesthetics and voices. An exhibition that highlights the poetics of ruin, organic decomposition, the forbidden and even the apocalyptic spectre, testifying to the collector's obsessions and featuring works by great artists such as Cindy Sherman, Mike Kelley, Christian Boltanski, Yayoi Kusama, Michel Journiac, Daniel Spoerri, Robert Filliou, Nam June Paik, Joana Vasconcelos, Andres Serrano and Wim Delvoye.

Veronica Azzari - © 2025 ARTE.it for Bvlgari Hotel Paris