Vincent FOURNIER
How to best characterize the photographic work of Vincent FOURNIER? First, by knowing its triple interest in science, the human being and its potential, whether in the realm of utopia or the nearest future. "Observe the stars, travel in space and time, create and program the living, see in the invisible, invent the future ..." it is in these terms that Vincent FOURNIER evokes his artistic approach. Then, it is necessary to confront the image directly, to perceive the meticulousness of its realization, that it is by the framing, the control of the light or by the sharpness of the rendering. The formal perfection of his photographs comes as a response to the utopian charge instilled in science and technology, it is the echo of it.
Vincent FOURNIER was born in 1970 in Ouagadougou. He first studied sociology and visual arts, before graduating from the National School of Photography in Arles in 1997. His first works are made in the context of orders for cinema and advertising.
Then, in 2004, during a big trip around the world, he made his first series of photographs : Tour Operator . We can already notice some traits that will inhabit his future work, such as: the affirmation of verticality in landscape format photographs; a predilection for purity and large spaces; the solitary presentation of architectural elements; and more generally a special care given to the composition of the image .
Vincent FOURNIER, Ergol 11 - Arianespace, 2011, series: Space Project
Vincent FOURNIER starts in 2007 another series of photographs, this time dedicated to space. Space Project received support many laboratories and research centers specializing in the discovery of distant universes. The vision he develops of infrastructures and objects evokes at the same time the fever of utopia and the assurance of technology. The equipment - gloves, helmets, radars - that he immortalizes are carriers of this, they are objects intended to reach something hitherto out of reach. Vincent FOURNIER pursues a similar theme in the photos of his series The Man Machine, in which there is also a certain fragility.
Vincent FOURNIER's photographs open a dialogue between dreams and science
Vincent FOURNIER talks about what he calls Mythologies of the future
"My work is very freely inspired by the dream and mystery that scientific and technological utopias resonate in the collective imagination: space travel, utopian architectures, humanoid robots, transformation in the living... [...] This "in-between" creates a floating that allows different levels of reading and leaves open the interpretation. The stories of the future crystallize so many emotions and questions, at the same time dreams of children and dreams of civilizations." Vincent FOURNIER, February 2019
His works have recently received the attention of the most prestigious museums around the world. Between collective exhibitions and solo shows, the utopias futur of cities (incarnated by Brasilia) space travel (Space Utopia) and new animals (Post Natural History) open up a range of dystopias where the artificial and the natural are more and more intertwined.
Vincent FOURNIER, Reem B #9, 2010, series: The Man Machine
Museums & institutions :
Centre POMPIDOU, Paris, France.
The MET – Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York, New York, USA.
The St John of God Art Collection Western, Australie.
Baccarat Hotel Collection, New York, New York, USA.
The LVMH Contemporary Art Foundation, Paris, France.
MAST Foundation in Bologna (Foto Industria), Bologna, Italie.
Science Gallery, Dublin, Irlande.
Musée des Ursulines, Mâcon, France.
Fondation Bullukian, Lyon, France.
Collection Dragonfly (Domaine des Etangs / Primat ), Massignac, France.
Books :
Post Natural History, Noeve, 2019.
Space Utopia, Noeve x Rizzoli, 2018.
Set box Post Natural History, Be-Poles, 2014.
Post Natural History, Be-Poles, 2014.
Brasilia, Be-Poles, 2012.
Past Forward, Editions 360°, 2012.
Space Project, Editions Verlhac, 2008.
Exhibitions (selection since 2010) :
Fondation Bullukian, Space Utopia, Lyon, 2019
The Ravestijn Gallery, Amsterdam, Space Utopia, Netherlands, 2019
MET – The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Presentation of Space Project for the event In Our Time: A Year of Architecture in a Day, New York, USA, 2019 (collective exhibition)
Mori Art Museum, The Future and Arts, Tokyo, Japan, 2019 (collective exhibition)
Domaine des Etangs, Space Utopia, Massignac, France, 2019
Galerie du Château d’Eau, Past Forward, Toulouse, France, 2018
Centre d’Art Sacré, Space Utopia, Transphotographique, galerie Provost-Hacker, Lille, France, 2018
Taiwan Design Museum, Future Cross Boundaries, Taipei, Taiwan, 2018 (collective exhibition)
Festival Lianzhou Photo, Man Machine, Lianzhou, China, 2018 (festival)
Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, Past Forward, Foto Industria, Fondazione MAST, Bologna, Italy, 2017
Australian Center for Photography (ACP), Post Natural History, Sydney, Australia, 2017
Centre Pompidou, Imprimer le Monde, presentation of the artwork “Le cerveau-nuage”, Paris, France, 2017 (collective exhibition)
Vitra Design Museum, Hello, Robot, Weil am Rhein, Germany, 2017
ArtScience Museum, The Universe and Art, Singapour, 2017
Perth Centre for Photography, Post Natural History, Perth, Australia, 2016
Alliance Française, Post Natural History, Melbourne, Australia, 2016
Galerie Spazio Nobile, Post Natural History, Bruxelles, Belgium, 2016
Mori Art Museum, The Universe and Art, Tokyo, Japan, 2016 (collective exhibition)
La Galerie, Post Natural History, Hong-Kong, 2015
Amsterdam Art Fair, The Ravestijn Gallery, Amsterdam, Hollande, 2015
Art Central Fair, Hong Kong, 2015
Espace Quai 1, Post Natural History, Vevey, Suisse, 2014
Magasin, Le Bon Marché, Brasilia, Paris, France, 2014
La Fondation EDF/Electra, Alive, Paris, 2014 (collective exhibition)
Centre 798 Art Zone / Thinking Hands, Space Project, Beijing, China (collective exhibition)
Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Space Odyssey 2.0, Hasselt, Belgium (collective exhibition)
Festival Getxophoto, Bilbao, Spain, 2014 (festival)
Festival Kyotographie, Kyoto, Japan, 2014 (festival)
Festival Cortona On the Move, Italy, 2014 (festival)
Centre d’Art Contemporain de Pontmain, La science à l’œuvre, France, 2013 (collective exhibition)
Science Museum/Fabrica, The Man Machine, Moscow, Russia, 2013 (collective exhibition)
Le Centre de la Photographie de Genève, False Fake, Suisse, 2013 (collective exhibition)
NAI/Institut d’Architecture des Pays-Bas, Post Natural History, Bio Design, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 2013 (collective exhibition)
Science Gallery, Grow Your Own, Dublin, Irland, 2013 (collective exhibition)
Les Rencontres d’Arles, Space Projet & The Man Machine, Arles, France, 2012
A Theatre For Constructed Ecologies, Berlin, Germany, 2011 (exposition collective)
The Empty Quarter Gallery, Space Project, Dubai, Emirates, 2010
London Art Fair, London, England, 2010 (foire)
Shanghai Art Fair, China, 2010 (foire)