Panoptes
the work is accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity
bronze noir
40 3/16 x 38 9/16 x 6 11/16 inches (102 x 98 x 17 cm)
(LG-S.22.3082)
b. 1972
b. 1972
Photo by Chen You Wei
Born in France in 1972, Laurent Grasso has developed a fascination with the visual possibilities related to the science of electromagnetic energy, radio waves and naturally occurring phenomena. Grasso explores these sciences as they apply to paranormal activity, a favorite subject of 18th century scientists and philosophers, often used as parlor entertainment during the Victorian era.
Incorporating imagery culled from the cinema and art history, Grasso works in video, sculpture, painting, and drawing to recreate phenomena – both human and natural – that set up surreal and ambiguous juxtapositions of time and space. Grasso often intentionally manipulates imagery by imposing unique and unusual perspectives onto his subject matter, thereby subverting the viewer’s instinct to accept what they see at face value. A continually shifting viewpoint is at the heart of Grasso’s aesthetic sensibility – in Grasso’s words, “the idea is to construct a floating viewpoint, thereby creating a discrepancy in relation to reality. We move from one viewpoint to another, and that’s also how we manufacture states of consciousness.”
Grasso is the recipient of the Meru Art*Science Award in Bergamo, Italy, the Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Marcel Duchamp Prize. He is the subject of a major monograph, Laurent Grasso: Soleil Double published by Dilecta in 2015. In 2024, Rizzoli published Time Travel, which explores Grasso’s expansive oeuvre, exploring science, natural phenomena, and contemporary mythologies, to present a visual journey of his avant-garde, conceptual work. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at international institutions, including the Abbaye of Jumièges, in France, Tao Art in Taiwan, the Collège des Bernardins and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Centre Pompidou x West Bund Museum in Shanghai, the Jeonnam Museum of Art in Gwangyang, South Korea, the Palais Fesch, Musée des Beaux-Arts in Ajaccio, France, the Hermès Foundation in Tokyo, the Kunsthaus Baselland in Switzerland, the Musée d’Art Contemporain in Montréal, the Jeu de Paume and Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Bass Museum of Art in Miami, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. amongst others. Grasso has been included in many international biennials including the 21st Sydney Biennale, Australia (2018); EVA International, Limerick, Ireland (2018); Kochi, India (2014); Gwangju 9th, South Korea (2012); Manifesta 8, Cartagena/ Murcia, Spain (2010); Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (2009); Moscow, Russia (2009); and Busan, South Korea (2004 and 2006).
Laurent Grasso has recently created several permanent installations in public spaces including Solar Wind on the Paris ring road, and a group of sculptures entitled Roots of the Future, which was installed for the 2024 Paris Olympic Village. Grasso was also commissioned to create a permanent site-specific installation for the ceiling of the new train station in Châtillon-Montrouge, as part of the Grand Paris project.
