Monograph on Bernar Venet's Conceptual to Sculptural Shift

Thierry Lenain's monograph on Bernar Venet, published by Flammarion, examines the artist's transition from conceptual radicality to monumental sculpture. Venet states that the autonomy of his work lies in the plurality of his approaches. Lenain's study focuses on how to understand this shift, using reproductions of works with minimal commentary, only occasional quotes from Venet. Lenain argues that Venet's consistency lies in his constant questioning of ontology across different forms. Two foundational gestures are highlighted: the 1961 performance 'Performance dans les détritus,' a response to Yves Klein's 'Leap into the Void,' situating Venet in dialogue with art history; and the same year, his discovery of a tar spill in a dump, his first experience of raw matter, abandoning historicity for primary creativity dependent on thought. The catalogue 'Performances, etc. 1961-2006' (Charta) establishes these two acts as directions for understanding Venet's work. The term 'performance' is intentionally left undefined in that catalogue, respecting the artist's approach where idea becomes act and demonstration becomes work. The catalogue's merit is in conveying an oeuvre that claims the impossibility of its definition.