Pierre Guyotat

“the matter of our works” 
galerie Azzedine Alaïa, Paris

text by DONATIEN GRAU

 

Putains at serpent, 2016, pencil, pastel, and pen. Photo by Dennis Bouchard

Pierre Guyotat is widely considered one of today’s most significant and radical authors. From his early Tombeau Pour Cinq Cent Mille Soldats (Tomb for 500,000 Soldiers) in 1967 and Eden, Eden, Eden (1970) to Joyeux Animaux de la Misère (Merry Animals of Misery), published in 2014 and currently being translated into English, Guyotat has created a world based on the world and a language based on language that are completely new and yet completely rooted in tradition. A leading figure of experimental writing, he has inspired the work of many visual artists.
Such was the premise of the exhibition “Pierre Guyotat: La Matière de Nos Œuvres” (“Pierre Guyotat: The Matter of Our Works”), presented in spring 2016 at Galerie…