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Laurent Grasso

Biography

Photo by Mathieu Cesar

Laurent Grasso lives and works in Paris, France.

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: The Black-Body Radiation published by les presses du reel in 2009. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at international institutions including the Palais Fesch, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Ajaccio, France; the Hermès Foundation, Tokyo, Japan; the Musée de l'hospice Saint-Roch, Issoudun, France; Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz, Switzerland; the Musée d’Art Contemporain, Montréal, Canada; Jeu de Paume, Paris, France; the Bass Museum of Art, Miami, Florida; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., and Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France.

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). 

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Biography (PDF2)

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Videos

SolarWind from Solar Wind on Vimeo.

Laurent Grasso, SolarWind, Permanent Public Installation, Paris, France

Laurent Grasso, Uraniborg, Jeu de Paume, 2012

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