John Armleder
ENCORE TROP

From March 15 to May 3, 2024

Opening, Thursday, March 14, 2024, from 6 to 9 pm (Nuit des Bains)

A few monotypes, two screen prints and a multiple

Before attempting to unravel the meaning, or meanings, behind the title of this exhibition, ENCORE TROP, we can consider a couple of quotes by John Armleder from the recent catalogue of a group exhibition he curated, It Never Ends, John M. Armleder & Guests (Kanal – Centre Pompidou, Bruxelles, September 2020). The title of this solo and group exhibition seems to imply a perception of time and space that distances itself from the definitive. Armleder feeds on the propositions, the circumstances as well as the context to make his choices : « I always work following the logic of the space and the people who invite me […] »1. Here, we find a very seventies philosophy, horizontal, a philosophy of delegation, where the very existence of the work of art is shared by all, in a limitless and open-ended interaction which considers the means of production, the exhibition spaces, and finally the viewer as entirely part of the creative process. In the same catalog one can find the sentence chosen as the exhibition title at the Museion of Bolzano in 2018 : « Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. » (« The more it changes, the more it remains the same. »)2

This observation echoes perfectly the circumstances of the exhibition at the CEC, ENCORE TROP, which follows our first collaboration in 1992, more than 30 years ago, when we produced a series of 21 engravings (etchings and monotypes), all unique, which offered a range of different types of print : monochrome surfaces resulting from the inking of an industrially sanded plate, drippings of acid that, when inked, would transform into colorful printed drips, or simply trinkets and glitters directly thrown onto the plate, which would then be crushed and melded with the paper under the pressure of the press roll. Comment from the time: « Etching gives John Armleder the freedom to use the same « motifs » over and over again, with little to no work. In contrast to the traditional practice of using a plate to reproduce the same etching in several copies, John Armleder starts from four matrices treated differently in order to produce a set of dissimilar prints. Thus, he can choose various combinations – superimpositions, inversions, color inking. Without any pre-established system, the decisions depend on the circumstances, the flaws and the successes of each print run. John Armleder rediscovers this freedom of choice which allows him to oscillate between etching and pictorial effects, between free abstraction and geometry, between necessary and relative, between style and non-style, between self-criticism and distancing. »3

Indeed, everything changes and nothing changes. The monotypes exhibited today at the CEC recall the ones produced and exhibited in 1992 : monotypes, unique pieces, available in series, where everything is kept as is. In the series currently exhibited, Shady place for sunny people (2024), three large sheets display drips, and four others, almost fully white, are in reality protective sheets, marked with colored residual imprints from the pressure of a weighed system, which allowed the transfer of masses of ink on the first ones, and left the traces of their overflows on the second ones. These simple stains also echo the « splashes », recurring stylized motifs in Armleder’s work, here screenprinted, gold or silver, on two sets of paper sheets, pink or yellow, mounted on cardboard, recovered from an edition produced in 1979, a leporello, Lézards Sauvages IIa/ « égouttés ». Each leaflet used to display a printed reproduction of a comb, whole or broken, found on the streets of Geneva. This harvest offered Armleder the casualness of a stroll and the recovery of a pre-existing object : a performance which lasted the time of his journeys, and a ready-made form, an abstract, random and unselective grid, which made the series possible.

This new edition keeps the same title while continuing the numbering begun in 1979, Lézards Sauvages III and IV, (1979) 2024. The recovery of old material from more than 40 years ago, 1979/2024, suggests a crushing of time, between nostalgia and newness. A continuous creation cycle between recovery and self-citation, which eludes the linearity and finality of the retrospective, blurring the lines of dating, archiving and conservation, preferring « the semicolon, the comma to the full stop. »4

Concerning the comb metaphor, beyond Duchamp’s ready-made or Armleder’s iconic braid, worn unchanged and at all times, the notion of gap deserves consideration, the gap between the teeth of the comb, between the spread hair, regrouped, shaped, as a philosophy of the gap and of the side step, important for the artist collective Ecart, founded in the 1970s by Armleder and two friends, Claude Rychner and Patrick Lucchini. One can also think of the comb as a simplified brush, both literally « brushing », brushing but not really, to paint as to brush, a distanced, ironical gesture, far from expression and pathos, a sort of mechanised painting, which prefers the arbitrariness of dripping and the mechanics of transfer. No need for further research on artistic and linguistic metaphors, as Armleder himself prefers to keep a distance from text and analysis : « In my work, I am in favor of getting rid of the text and its constraints on comprehension. »5

For Armleder, the harvest of the combs, this action, and the leporello edition of 1979 are part of an equivalent whole, as the unused recovered sheets of this leporello will serve as the background of our two screen prints, Lézards Sauvages III and IV, (1979) 2024. Added to these three steps, the edition of a multiple, an engraved comb, once again a comb, ENCORE TROP, a sort of return to the real object, as for him « There is no gap between art and other objects». He then follows : « Art is not singular, and is absolutely not useful. Art is only inevitable. »6

Véronique Bacchetta, March 2023 (trad. Flavia Vuagniaux)

John Armleder was born in Geneva in 1948, where he lives and works. His work has been displayed in numerous solo exhibitions, such as : On ne fait pas ça, Massimo de Carlo Milano (2024) ; Experiences, Kunsthalle Marcel Duchamp, Cully (2023), Pour la planète, Palais Galerie, Neuchâtel (2023), Yakety Yak, Mrac Occitanie, Sérignan (2023) ; Again, Just Again, Rockbound Art Museum, Shanghai (2021) ; « It never ends », Carte Blanche to John M Armleder, KANAL, Centre Pompidou, Brussels (2020) ; CA.CA., Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2019) ; Spoons, moons and masks, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen (2019), Quicksand II, MAMCO, Geneva (2019) ; 360°, MADRE – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina, Naples (2018) ; Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, Museion, Bolzano (2018) ; Stockage, Instituto Svizzero di Roma (2017) ; À Rebours, La Salle de Bains, Lyon (2017).
His work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions, including : Monotypes, Edition VFO, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich (2023) ; &, MAMCO, Geneva (2022) ; Stop Painting, Fondazione Prada, Milano (2021) ; Ecart at Art Basel, MAMCO, Geneva (2019) ; Medusa – Jewellery and Taboos, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris (2017).
In 2024, John Armleder’s work will be the subject of several solo and group exhibitions : Never-Nevermore, Lovay Fine Arts, Geneva ; Renverser la tâche, Galerie Catherine Issert, Saint-Paul-de-Vence ; Transparents, Musée Barbier-Müller, Geneva ; Galerie Elisabeth and Klaus Thomas, Innsbruck. He is represented by a number of galleries : Massimo de Carlo Gallery, David Kordansky Gallery, Almine Rech Gallery, Galerie Mehdi Chouakri. His artwork are part of permanent collections of many museums, such as the Centre Pompidou, Paris ; the Museum of Modern Art, New York ; the Long Museum, Shanghai ; the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles ; the Kunstmuseum Basel ; the Fondation Museion – Museum of contemporary and modern art, Bolzano ; and the Moderna Museet, Stockholm.
1 “Quatre entretiens avec John Armleder”, “It Never Ends”, It Never Ends, John M Armleder & Guests, éd. Yann Chateigné Tytelman, KANAL – Centre Pompidou et Lenz, Bruxelles, 2024, p. 192. 
2 Ibid., p. 193.
3 Véronique Bacchetta, extract from the press release for John Armleder’s exhibition at the CGGC/CEC from 11 June to 18 July 1992.
4 “Point, virgule, point-virgule”, It Never Ends, John M Armleder & Guests, éd. Yann Chateigné Tytelman, KANAL – Centre Pompidou et Lenz, Bruxelles, 2024, p. 201.
5 op.cit. p. 192.
6 Extract from a quotation by John Armleder at the beginning of the postface, Yves Goldstein, “It Never Ends (Postface)”, It Never Ends, John M Armleder & Guests, éd. Yann Chateigné Tytelman, KANAL – Centre Pompidou et Lenz, Bruxelles, 2024, p. 190.

Artistes

Exhibitions

2024
Mini VOLUMES 2024 – Summer Edition
Denis Savary
Quiet Clubbing
John Armleder
ENCORE TROP
P.A.G.E.S. 2024
Caroline Schattling Villeval
Carences et toute-puissance
2023
VOLUMES – Art Publishing Days 2023
Gina Folly
Dolce Vita
Book launch, Paradis
Presentation evening “Before publications”
RM
SOLO TÚ
Videos: new and revisited
artgenève 2023
Editions and Before publications
2022
Liz Craft
Ms. America

L’esprit d’escalier
Paul Bernard
“Guy would never have done that.” Debord Curator
I Never Read, Art Book Fair Basel 2022
Paris Ass Book Fair 2022
Mai-Thu Perret
My sister’s hand in mine
artgenève 2022
Before et publications
2021
Marie Angeletti
Ram
Paul Viaccoz
ESPRIT ES-TU LÀ ?

Bridge the gap
Guillaume Dénervaud
Surv’Eye
Printed Matter’s Virtual Art Book Fair 2021
2020
Paul Paillet
Fascination for fire
Metallica
artgenève 2020
Fabian Marti
Such a Good Girl
2019
P.A.G.E.S. 2019
Open accrochage, editions
of
TIMOTHÉE CALAME
ALTERA
LA Art Book Fair 2019
Spring Sale Time
artgenève 2019
ground
Matthew Lutz-Kinoy
What to wear to a concert? Tips for concert outfits: wear your best punk jacket with the right patches ! “A patch meant to be fixed to the back of your jacket depicting relevant cultural affiliations”
2018
Matthew Lutz-Kinoy
The Meadow
Salon MAD#4 (Multiple Art Days)
Paris 2018
Entrelacs
Victor Man invites Navid Nuur
Valentin Carron, Marc Camille Chaimowicz, François Curlet…
artgenève 2018
Keren Cytter
2017
Jonathan Monk
Directional Advice
Thomas Hirschhorn
Flashforward
Edited by the CEC!
Focus: Mélanie Matranga
Jean-Michel Wicker
#picturebook1
Book Launch c/o Section 7 Books, Paris
Jean-Michel Wicker
#picturebook1
Book Launch c/o SALTS, Birsfelden/Basel
Presentation of the edition
Jean-Michel Wicker
#picturebook1
Jakob Kolding
The Outside or the Inside of the Internalised Externalised
Jean-Michel Wicker
BBiblioteca ffanafffantastica
artgenève 2017
Inside the Bubble-Booth
Presentation of the edition
Jean-Michel Wicker
Belle étiquette
2016
Presentation of the book
Mathis Gasser
In the Museum 1 2 (3),
Regulators 1 2 n
Presentation of the edition
Artists’ Voices
Valentin Carron
Deux épaisseurs un coin
Mathis Gasser
Sept sont tombés vers le ciel
Works on paper
artgenève 2016
2015
Artists’ Voices
Prolongation
Artists’ Voices
Extract
I Never Read, Art Book Fair Basel 2015
Jason Dodge
David Maljkovic
with
Konstantin Grcic
Negatives
artgenève 2015
2014
WINTER SALE
AND
ALPHABET EDITIONS
Raphaël Julliard
Chromozone
Oriol Vilanova
Renoncer à te décrire
artgenève 2014 FILMS – CORRIDOR
2013
Artissima 2013
Edited!
NY Art Book Fair 2013
David Hominal
Through The Windows
Jonathan Monk
Egg
artgenève 2013
2012
Posters
Salon Light #9, Paris
NY Art Book Fair 2012
Oscar Tuazon
Salon des Dames
artgenève 2012
Jeffrey Vallance
The Vallance Bible
Nouvelles éditions
Oscar Tuazon
Book Launch c/o Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich
2011
Aaron Flint Jamison
Philippe Decrauzat
Book Launch c/o Motto Zürich
Abstractions sentimentales et quelques éditions, Cneai, Paris
Philippe Decrauzat
NYSTAGMUS
Gerard Byrne
For example; a sketch of Five Elevations, 1971-72
Presentation of the book
Sgrafo vs Fat Lava
2010
Présentation de l’édition de Pierre Bismuth Something Less, Something More – DIY
Sgrafo vs Fat Lava
Céramiques et porcelaines Made in West Germany, 1960-1980
“Encadrées”
Susanne M. Winterling
They Called Each Other Horses
Changement d’accrochage: Heimo Zobernig
Fröhliche Gesellschaft,
Parrotta Contemporary Art, Stuttgart
2009
Editions vs. objets
Erik van Lieshout
The Assistant
T. Quelques possibilités de textes
EDITIONS (suite…)
Présentation du catalogue
L’Effet papillon, 1989-2007,
castillo/corrales, Paris
2008
EDITIONS (2004-2008)
Presentation of
L’Effet papillon, 1989-2007
at Maison de la poésie, Basel
Trisha Donnelly
L’Effet papillon, 1989-2007
Olivier Bardin
You belong to me I belong to you
2007
Editions récentes
Anne-Julie Raccoursier
Wireless World, BAC, Genève
Otra de Vaqueros (Redux), BAC, Genève
Habitat/Variations, BAC, Genève
Markus Schinwald, BAC, Genève
Andreas Dobler
In Deep Ink, BAC, Genève
2006
Gianni Motti
Perpetual Channel
The Missing Evidence
Accrochage des éditions 1995-2005
Marie Velardi
Futurs antérieurs, 20006
2005
Christophe Rey
Ocean Bluff
Quelques éditions…
No More Lights On My Starguitar
2004
Florian Pumhösl
Héliogravures et film
M/M (Paris)
Pour hoM/Me,
printemps-été 2004
Mai-Thu Perret
Love thy sister like thyself
Haroutioun Simonian
Performance (à huis clos) & installation vidéo
2003
Filière papier – Filière expo
Monica Bonvicini
Accrochage de l’édition
Eternmale
Finger No. 12
conventions/
Konventionen/
conventions
Jakob Kolding
Amy O’Neill et Emmanuel Piguet
Dm-melkenburg
2002
Karl Holmqvist
Soirée tropicale
Animation: Vidéos
Rosemarie Trockel
Edition, eaux-fortes, 1996
KIOSK (V)
Monica Bonvicini
Bonded Eternmale
2001
Affiches/Livres
Social Hackers
Editions
Fabrice Gygi
VITRINES et PITON UNIVERSEL
Vidya Gastaldon & Jean-Michel Wicker
2000
Editions 2000
Bring the Noise
Bourse du CGGC 1997-1999
1999
KLAT
Evil Talk: Beyond the pleasure principle
Thomas Hirschhorn
Elke Krystufek
In the Arms of Luck
Editions
1998
One Step Backwards: Books,
prints, videos, 1998
LISTE 98, The Young Art Fair,
Usine Warteck, Bâle
lithographs
1997
Elena Montesinos
Tune out, Turn off, Drop in
Multiples of the Centre genevois de gravure contemporaine
Eté 97
Stan Douglas
Photographies
Hinrich Sachs

B. Toguo Tamokoué
Gravures et Multiples
1996
Heimo Zobernig
Alexandre Bianchini,
Nicolás Fernández,
Jérôme Hentsch
et
Alain Julliard
Kristin Oppenheim
Rosemarie Trockel
1995
Thomas Hirschhorn
Les Plaintifs, les Bêtes, les Politiques
Karen Kilimnik
Tiger
Editions of the Centre genevois de gravure contemporaine
Luc Tuymans
Le Verdict
Estampes et photographies
Yves Gevaert éditeur, Bruxelles
1994
Olivier Mosset
Claude Closky
Alexandre Bianchini

Hubert Mean
Alex Hanimann
Peintures, édition
1993
Giuseppe Penone
Images de pierres
Sigurdur Arni Sigurdsson
Peintures, dessins
Gerry Schum
Fernseh und Videogalerie
John M Armleder
Ian Anüll
Dessins, sérigraphies et éditions
Claude Gaçon
1992
Éditions, 1986-1992
John M Armleder
Parkett
Jean Stern
Panini alle melanzane
Stephan Landry
Marie Sacconi
1991
Laurence Pittet
Suzanne Lafont
Photographies
Marcel Broodthaers
Œuvres graphiques, 1964-1975
Jean-Michel Othoniel
¡ Capotes !
1990
Roman Signer
Installation hélicoptère, 1990
Jean-Marc Meunier
Sapins de Noël, 1988-1989
Anne Pesce
Pêcheur, c’est lui qui devient un poisson
Andreas Hofer
Installation – édition
1989
Emmett Williams
Multiples
Henri Michaux
Encres, gouaches, aquarelles, lavis
Andreas Gursky
Photographies
Stéphane Brunner
1988
Mori Shigeru
Estampes