Valentin Carron

Born in 1977 in Martigny (Switzerland), VALENTIN CARRON lives and works there.
A poacher artist, he bases his practice on appropriation strategies.
Heir to pop art, and a resident of Valais, he looks at the landscapes he lives in. The works of art in public spaces or Swiss museums and foundations, the objects surrounding them, or the architecture of the Valais are sources of inspiration for the artist, which he diverts in a logic of subversion and play.
Through the switch of material, he allows himself to formally recreate certain existing works of art. From granite to resin, from leather to glass, he pays homage with humour and casualness to sculptures from the past.
Valentin Carron thus deconstructs codes and hierarchies in art, highlighting forms that have fallen into disuse. It is not a question of copying, but of interpreting vernacular or artistic forms. The content, the form, the meaning are therefore three keys to understand his work, which is itself in perpetual transformation.
His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions: at the Kunsthalle in Bern, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Conservera Centro de Arte Contemporáneo in Ceuti/Mursia, the Kunsthalle Zürich, the Swiss Institute in New York, the Chisenhale Gallery in London (with Mai-Thu Perret), the Centre d’Art Contemporain de Genève (with Mai-Thu Perret), the Fri Art in Freiburg; and group exhibitions: at the SculptureCenter in New York, the MuDAC in Lausanne, the Migros museum für gegenwartskunst in Zurich, the Kunsthaus in Aarau, the Consortium of Dijon, the Rubell Family Collection in Miami, the Musée Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne, the CAPC - musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux.
Valentin Carron represented Switzerland at the 55th Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2013.
Kamel Mennour and Valentin Carron have been working together since 2015.