Antoine Donzeaud at Nirox Foundation

Artist: Antoine Donzeaud

Exhibition title: Pacing with Richard

Venue: Nirox Foundation, Krugersdorp, South Africa

Date: April 2 – 30, 2017

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Nirox Foundation

I see these works as some kind of companions. They were all made with materials found on location ; I searched through the house, everyday I took a walk across the domain. There is a pile of scraps, by one of the farms : leftovers from when the fences were built, spares for the tractor and other segments of pipes now turned into hornets nets.
Now these pieces are all standing, either rolled on themselves or piled and maintaining somehow their bits as straight as they possibly can, achieving an impossible verticality. Thin and tall ; or short and fat, like gentle giants.
The other day I got caught up in a storm upon the hill where Richard’s stone stands. I sat on the rock and watched it pass over the hills, over the power lines, until the sky cleared out.

– Antoine Donzeaud, March 2017

Nirox Foundation is pleased to present, Pacing with Richard, the first exhibition of artist Antoine Donzeaud in South Africa, featuring new works produced during his residency at Nirox Foundation from March 27th till April 4th.
Referencing Richard Long’s practice the show acts as a response to the environment Donzeaud walked in, echoing the monumental sculptures of the park and the ubiquitous lushness of the residency.

Antoine Donzeaud (born 1985, Vitry-sur-Seine, FR) lives and works in Paris. He studied painting at UCLA and graduated from Villa Arson in Nice. He is the co-director of the gallery Exo Exo in Paris. Since Fall 2013 the gallery has presented shows and projects by international artists and curators. As an artist he has shown in institutions such as Rupert, Vilnius ; Rivoli2 Foundation, Milan and has had gallery shows at Valentin, Paris ; Ashes/Ashes, Los Angeles ; Nicodim, Bucharest.

Donzeaud’s works convey simple gestures both pictural and sculptural, often laced with irony. Borrowing from art history, literature and vernacular culture he addresses social interactions and narratives, both virtual and IRL, evolving in a staged environment but ever so close to home.