An ode to thrills and thrill-seekers, the Motopoétique exhibition presents, through over 200 works, contemporary art in relation to biker culture and poetics – a visual culture. It also explores man’s relationship to machines. For Paul Ardenne, curator of the exhibition and author of Moto, notre amour, ‘the motorbike is paradigmatic of the relationship that man can develop with machines’.
The public is invited to explore or discover this parallel culture through the art works of 38 artists which awaken a sense of nostalgia for the 20th century, as well as providing us with an ultra-contemporary vision. The exhibition features some previously unseen pieces.
Guest curator: Paul Ardenne
With: Barbara Polla
Artists: Conrad Bakker (Canada), Elisabetta Benassi (Italy), Janet Biggs (USA), Tïa-Calli Borlase (France), BP (France)
Alain Bublex (France), Benedetto Bufalino (France), Clayton Burkhart (USA),Andrea Cera (Italy), Cristina Da Silva (Switzerland) & Olivier Mosset (Switzerland), Jeremy Deller & Alan Kane (UK), Laurent Faulon (France), Chris Gilmour (UK), Shaun Gladwell (Australia), Bernard Joisten (France), Ali Kazma (Turkey), Kevin Laisné (France), Florent Lamouroux (France), Gonzalo Lebrija (Mexico), Ange Leccia (France), Tuomo Manninen (Finland), Luc Mattenberger (Switzerland), Myriam Mechita (France), Maro Michalakakos (Greece), Charles Moody (USA), Mélodie Mousset (France), Jean-Michel Pancin (France), Pierre et Gilles (France), Gérard Rancinan (France), Jean-Baptiste Sauvage (France), Lionel Scoccimaro (France), Julien Serve (France), Michaela Spiegel (France), Xavier Veilhan (France), Patrick Weidmann (Switzerland), Moo Chew Wong (Malaisie), Raphaël Zarka (France), Brigitte Zieger (Germany)
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Why motorbikes?
Nothing could be simpler or more complex at the same time. Everything is stated, obvious, with motorbikes – from speed to death, love to war or indeed from the technical aspect to the aesthetic. Moreover, motorbikes are a way of life. If ‘art is what artists do’, then motorbikes are probably ‘what bikers do’. As a result, Motopoétique is not an exhibition of motorbikes. Motopoétique is an art exhibition.
The mythic, cultural and ritualistic aspects of motorbikes have fascinated many artists. But for an art exhibition whose referent is (also) the biker’s motorcycle, his bike, the machine between his legs and the eagle on his back, one needs to combine two qualities, or rather two approaches, i.e., the history of art and the history ofmotorbikes.
Unusually, Paul Ardenne is an expert on both. Together, we agreed to put the emphasis on the art works first and foremost. But we also chose not to exclude the cult-like aspect of the universe of biking and bikers. Therefore this is why – in addition to the art works – we can discover biker culture in the form of filmed interviews. In this exhibition, motorbike culture is recounted by an art historian, or rather
as Paul Ardenne chooses to depict it.
Motopoétique came from an idea by curator Paul Ardenne. For this exhibition, he worked in collaboration with Barbara Polla, associate curator, and the museum's curatorial team on the production and scenography. The exhibition is a tribute to bikers, whose art is what makes life less monotonous, even if it contains an element of risk. Finally, it is a tribute to art which makes life so compelling.
