As part of its program, MO.CO. continues to explore private collections as an essential facet of our relationship with artists and their works. Laurent Dumas, a passionate collector and advocate for contemporary art, has been invited to present a selection of his collection through the insightful curation of Éric de Chassey. This exhibition reflects their shared commitment to art and highlights the diversity within this collection, which captures the vibrancy of the art scene and major historical developments.
Laurent Dumas has been collecting artworks for over twenty years. Over time, he has increasingly focused on the French scene, particularly one that showcases the renewed vitality of figurative painting and plastic arts practices. These works, influenced by decades of conceptual art and relational aesthetics, reconnect with the description of the world—or rather, with the invention and reinvention of unique worlds. His collection, rich in monumental formats, has become a reference for anyone interested in understanding the evolution of art in France over the past thirty years.
The collection allows for an “archaeology” of recent decades, tracing back to the 1960s, when art adapted to a society dominated by mass media, and then to the 1980s and 1990s, when painting and sculpture were seen as outdated but revived by artists like Jean-Michel Alberola, Erik Dietman, Fabrice Hyber, Annette Messager, and Jean-Pierre Pincemin. These artists gave new energy to these mediums, far from sectarian quarrels or progressive teleologies that had dominated previous decades, and also far from the false spontaneity that surrounded the commercial success of international neo-expressionism. The collection includes major works from artists who have shaped the French art scene in the early decades of this century, such as Adel Abdessemed, Dove Allouche, Nina Childress, Hélène Delprat, Damien Deroubaix, Bruno Perramant, Georges Tony Stoll, and Claire Tabouret.
The French art scene presented in this collection is no longer insular, as it was often perceived in the past. It includes foreign artists working in France, like Ulla von Brandenburg and Thomas Hirschhorn. The collection continuously renews itself with young artists, as Laurent Dumas has consistently sought to acquire substantial groups of works early in their careers, and has supported them since 2014 through the Bourse Révélations Emerige. Important collections of works by Paul Mignard and Edgar Sarin attest to this visionary commitment. The radiance and influence of this French art scene, in dialogue with international artists, are central to the ambitious project that Laurent Dumas and Emerige are leading, with the opening of a new art center at Pointe des Arts on Île Seguin in Boulogne-Billancourt in 2026.
Laurent Dumas' collection was not assembled as a sample of current art trends, offering a comprehensive yet superficial snapshot. Instead, each work was chosen with a highly subjective approach, driven by personal passion rather than objective reasoning. This is why, while representative of a time and a history, it remains uniquely specific. Far from the middle-ground values traditionally associated with the "French spirit," the collection particularly celebrates humor, derision, extravagance, obsession, and drift—qualities that refresh our perspective on both the external world that shapes us and the internal one that stirs within.
Curator: Éric de Chassey
