Trucs Machins et Bidules (Nooks & Crannies): Organised with Olivier Renaud-Clément

Galerie Christophe Gaillard Brussels proudly presents Trucs Machins et Bidules (Nooks & Crannies), an exhibition revolving around the notion of assembling and recycling, and the potential socio-political forces prompting these creative processes. Organised in collaboration with Olivier Renaud-Clément, this presenta- tion unites selected works by Ser Serpas, François-Marie Banier, Nancy Brooks Brody, Jesse Darling, Rafik Greiss, Marc Leschelier, Jean-Luc Moulène, Anita Molinero and Daniel Pommereulle.

In his 1961 seminal work, William Seitz extensively defined ‘The Art of Assemblage’, which, according to the foreword, could have easily been named ‘The Art, Non-Art, and Anti-Art of Assemblage’ if it weren’t for typographical constraints. According to part of his definition, assemblage touches upon ‘the need of certain artists to defy and obliterate accepted categories, to fabricate aggressive objects, to present subjects tabooed by accepted standards, to undermine the striving for permanency by using soiled, valueless, and fragile materials, and even to present ordinary objects for examination unaltered’. Though the focal point of Trucs Machins et Bidules (Nooks & Crannies) echoes this sentiment, Olivier Renaud Clément’s proposal is one relying on intui- tion rather than theory and on connection with the works presented rather than conformity to rigid categories. The wide-ranging selection of artists - at different stages of their artistic careers and approaching this form with different inputs - testifies to this sensibility.

The impetus behind Trucs Machins et Bidules (Nooks & Crannies) was first and foremost sparked through Olivier Renaud-Clément’s wish to present Ser Serpas’ (°1995) work. Having grown up in Los Angeles but mostly working between Paris and New York now, Serpas has been recognised for adeptly creating assem- blages of disparate objects found on the street, manipulating them, often returning them back, and thus altering ready-made traditions. Upon arrival in Brussels to visit the gallery, she understood right away that finding trash throughout the city would not pose too much of a difficulty. (Charles Baudelaire did warn us about the city’s pertinent smell and disorganisation, and one might say there’s poetic irony to be found in bringing this international roster of artists, many of whom are repurposing materials deemed as thrash, to the funky-smelling city that is Brussels.)

Ser Serpas crossed paths with Rafik Greiss (°1997) at university and the two have since collabo- rated on projects such as By The Highway. As an Irish-born Egyptian artist living in Paris, Greiss often reflects on the urban condition and living within metropoles. In his tactile exploration of ordinary objects or moments through sculptural installations and photography, Greiss is not so much focused on individual qualities as on the interactions between these different elements.

Embracing the ‘Non-Art’ part of her artistic practice, and potentially of what Seitz was referring to in his book, Anita Molinero (°1953) defies easy categorization and emphasizes that her sole guarantee is in fact objects resembling exactly what they are meant to be. Using discarded materials such as garbage cans or car parts, she explores the complexities of industrialisation and dichotomy between both progress and its corresponding consequences, where her ‘form-fictions’ serve as witnesses of the turmoil of the present.

Multidisciplinary British artist Jesse Darling (°1981), who won the 2023 Turner Prize, navigates the complexities of the human body in contemporary society, addressing both its political and cultural dimensions. His artistic practice also engages with unconventional materials ranging from consumer goods to construction materials, liturgical derives or mythical symbols - re-contextualizing them by breaking down dominant hierar- chies and revealing their precarity. Darling succeeds in fostering connection between individual existence and collective humanity and draws on his own experiences as well as those of (counter-) history.