Pierre Monjaret on the Elusive Quality of a Good Exhibition

In a new series for Art Critique, curator Adrien Abline invites artists with a tumultuous relationship to the exhibition ritual to reflect on a memorable show. Artist Pierre Monjaret recalls "Densité +/- 0," held in early 2004 at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris. At the time, Monjaret was beginning his projects La Bergerie-Lieu d'Art Contemporain and the Guide Legrand des buffets de vernissages. The exhibition featured installations, photos, and videos by artists including Ceal Floyer and Annika Ström, leaning toward the invisible, inaudible, and minimal. Monjaret remembers the calm, serene atmosphere and the impression of emptiness, immateriality, and ephemerality. He notes that the show left few traces, adding to its charm, and that its ambiance—the "almost nothing"—is what endures. Monjaret, former director of La Bergerie, now serves as national selector for the Fédération Française d'Art. His correspondence with Jacques Rancière is on view in the exhibition "a minima" (March 20–September 27, 2026), curated by Didier Decoux at the Musée Wittockiana in Brussels, and is also consultable at the Cabinet du livre d'artiste in Rennes.