Lors Gréaud is a French conceptual artist, architect, and filmmaker. He was born on 1979 February 7th. He has been quite a mysterious artist; he refused to have a full biography published about him. But his shape-shifting work has put him in the limelight for quite some time.
Loris Gréaud is arguably one of the most influential artists. His work can be hard to circumscribe; he aims to erase the lines between reality and fiction. Gréaud once called himself an aesthetic adventurer. His works have been part of prominent collections and presented in different galleries and museums.
Despite having his works hang in some of the most prestigious museums, Loris only chooses to appear in a few selected markets and galleries. The mystery behind his personal and work life is what intrigues most fans.
Most of the works are organized into projects rather than exhibitions. You will notice Loris put out artworks of grand scale by looking at his projects. He has collaborated on different occasions with professionals from different fields. They have helped him answer his intriguing aesthetic questions.
Loris Gréaud achieved international recognition in the mid-2000s. Some of the projects that gained him international status included ‘Silence Goes More Quickly When Played Backwards,’ which happened in 2005. Loris became the first artist to occupy Palais de Tokyo with the Cellar Door Project.
He has been seen severally in the media, and international critics have had a lot to say about his art. Whether you are an art lover or not, there is something intellectually stimulating about his artwork. Loris also expresses himself through video, painting, performance and installation. However, if you are not acquainted with Loris Gréaud, this will be a quick introduction to some of his incredible works.
Projects of Loris Gréaud
Loris has had several exhibitions or projects, as he likes to call them, over the years. He rarely engages in group projects. He prefers concentrating on personal projects. Some of them have received more international recognition than others.
The first one happened in Plateau in Paris. Despite being his first major project, there was nothing amateur about it. It’s the project that started his international stardom.
Cellar Door was the next major project in 2008, where the artist became the first to fully occupy Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He continued this project over several museums and galleries, including Switzerland, London, Australia, and Spain. It was a few years before another project from Loris became available.
In 2012, his project, The Unplayed Notes, was presented at Yvon Lambert Gallery and Pace Gallery in Paris and New York. It was the first time he had a double exhibition at galleries that displayed his work.
He was invited for a joint exhibit by two organizations, Pompidou Center and Louvre in Paris. This joint exhibition was opened to the public. The exhibition was held in a courtyard, avoiding the two museum spaces.
Loris’ first solo show in the United States was at Dallas Contemporary. That’s where his project, The Unplayed Notes Museum, was presented. The whole gallery was set up to mimic a fictional civilization’s natural history museum. It was an intriguing display that instructed actors later destroyed on the opening night.
With this act, Gréaud managed to create a landscape where viewers could walk through the ruins. However, he filled up five gallery spaces at Dallas Contemporary with various works he had done over the year. He said he wanted to create a museum within a museum. This mesmerizing display happened in 2015.
It wasn’t the first and last project in the United States. In 2016, Loris produced the Sculpt film specifically for the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LCMA), which is one of the largest museums in the west.
Not many people will have a chance to see the Sculpt film. LACMA will show the two-hour film in the auditorium for one person at a time. The space is large enough to seat six hundred people. But Loris requested that all seats except one be taken out for this feature.
The film is shown up to six times a day. The unique concept behind Sculpt is all part of the vision Loris Gréaud and Willem Dafoe had. You are invited to see the film alone at LACMA if you want a hint of what it’s all about.
There was a continuation of the Sculpt exhibition at LACMA and other projects in 2019. After several years in production, he unveiled The Underground Sculpture Park project in 2020. The magnitude of these projects is impressive. They give you a little insight into Gréaud’s vision and how he comes up with his artworks.
The Boredom of the Atom in 2022 has to be one of his latest projects from the ever-mesmerizing artist. It’s set for the BASE in Florence and NO Gallery in New York. This is a three-stage sculptural project. The work will compose of 2,000 copper leaves. It’s all about still life and vanity.
He has redefined the arts’ way of materializing by prioritizing projects rather than exhibitions. The best way to understand his works is to have a closer look. But even then, the pieces will leave you with something to ponder. They are as interesting as they are intriguing.
Collaborations of Loris Gréaud
Loris Gréaud likes going solo in most of his projects. But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some collaborations here and there. The perfect example is the Sculpt film which he released with Willem Dafoe. He has had discussions with different professionals while working on projects.
He has produced crowd-pleasing art forms by working with architects to create invisible walls or scientists to create a perfume that mimics the smell of mars. Since most of his projects are produced at a grand scale, he has to work with different collaborators to bring ideas to life.
Although most of the works that have stood out from GreaudStudio have been solo projects. Some projects he welcomed discussions and collaborations with include The Snorks: A Concert for Creatures and Eye of the Duck.
It’s fair to say even future projects from Loris will be based on his ideas. He hasn’t done anything yet to make people believe he will be collaborating more often in future.
In a Nut Shell
Loris Gréaud’s exhibitions are bold; they have something for all your senses. The projects are sculptural, architectural, or abstracted, including light, sound and smell installations. You are transported to a different place when you stand before his artwork.
Most galleries and museums are glad to present his projects. He has become an international sensation, and most people pay attention to his work. However, you shouldn’t expect to meet him in these galleries or museums because he rarely makes such appearances.
Refusing to have his biography published since the start of his career makes it hard to glimpse his personal life. Most of the information available is not proven. But his work is out there, and it speaks for itself. He is an undisputed conceptual artist who is redefining a lot of art spaces.
