Ernest T.

Critical text

Ernest T. (b. 1943) is a conceptual artist who, behind his pseudonym, attacks and explodes the illusions generated by the contemporary art world. His starting point is a caricature of the modernity of artists and the public. He paints canvases, all similar and named Useless Paintings: checkerboards of blue, red and yellow squares. He adds comments and speeches on the uselessness of the work itself, on its emptiness in the society. Playing with detours, manipulation of images or even plagiarism, the artist depicts the art world in its most blatant features: with its turpitude, greed and other perversions. He enlarges the motifs of humorous drawings and includes in his compositions a painting, a detail, which he hijacks, replacing it with his own stereotypical image and a tone of self-mockery. He also paints and draws after Rembrandt, Bruegel and Mondrian, questioning – like many artists – the very idea of the work of art and its originality. He has written an artist's book, La Vie d'artiste (1989-2001), published by the Centre National de l'Estampe et de l'Art, printed in Chatou. Ernest T. has taken part in group exhibitions, including: 2003, Une collection de "chefs-d'œuvre", emprunts, pastiches, copies, citations et interprétations, an exhibition dealing with the practice of appropriation in art, mainly from a European perspective, Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain, Limoges; 2003, Un tableau dans le décor. Peintures 1970-2000, an exhibition organized for the 20th anniversary of the FRAC, Château des Ducs de Bretagne, Nantes. Solo exhibitions of his works have been held at Galerie Gabrielle Maubrie, Paris, in 1992, and at FRAC Limoges in 2001. In 2010 his work was shown at the Salon de Montrouge, where he was the guest of honour. Ernest T’s works are included in the collections of the Musée national d'art moderne - Pompidou Center (FR), the CNAP, Paris (FR), the MAMCO in Geneva (CH), the IAC Villeurbanne and numerous regional contemporary art centers across France.

Text by Mouna Mekouar