Claire Fontaine

Oeuvres diverses

Abdijkapel Ten Bogaerde, Ten Bogaerdelaan 12
Koksijde-Oostduinkerke 

For Beaufort04 the ground floor of the Abbey Estate Ten Bogaerde has been taken over by the French artists' collective Claire Fontaine. At the invitation of Hilde Teerlinck, curator of the FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais in Dunkerk, the collective is presenting two existing works purchased by FRAC, alongside new work created specifically for Beaufort04.Claire Fontaine, named after the eponymous school exercise books, works as a self-styled readymade artist and has built up an oeuvre of neo-conceptual art that often resembles the works of others. Through an enormous variation in forms the work of Claire Fontaine continually questions the political impotence and the lack of individuality in contemporary art. The work Untitled (Identité, Souveraineté et Tradition) plays with the meanings and the balance of power of the ultimate national symbol: the flag. Please God Make Tomorrow Better questions, disguised as an election-cry the way the economical crisis is tackled.  Untitled (Christies : Lehman Bros. Sale, Wed. 29.09.2010 at 12.00pm) consists of pages from a catalogue of an auction house with the collection of maritime paintings of Lehman Brothers, the infamous investment company that went bankrupt in 2008. The transformation of these pages into a work of art criticizes the actions of the financial market and the increasing commercialization of the contemporary art world.