RERO French, b. 1983

The work of RERO (b. 1983), while instantly recognizable from his distinctive visual style, contains within it an inherent fluidity as he explores myriad social concepts, from technology and consumerism to language and obsolescence. He continually stretches the boundaries of his artistic mediums, often choosing to forego traditional surfaces on which to plant his minimalist statements. RERO’s text, always in the same Verdana font and stripped of any flourish beyond a bold strike-through line, become embedded within the medium, acting as a literal and material addition while simultaneously a marker for deconstruction.

At the very core of his work are these concepts – the confrontation, the aesthetics of destruction and the idea of appropriation. His pieces began as site specific urban “interventions,” text placed on dilapidated and abandoned buildings, hugging the mold-ridden walls of open-air galleries filled with debris and detritus. Translated from the exterior to the interior, RERO’s most ambitious pieces are large-scale installations that make use of the art gallery or museum venue to explore notions of context and perceptions of space.

RERO’s interventions within the urban and natural landscapes continue to influence his participation in the gallery setting. His pieces are found on canvas, vintage books, neon, fine china, statuesque busts, plaster walls, decaying newspapers, typewriters, flags, and much more. RERO presents these objects with his text as the image, thus provoking the sense of image negation, a continuing thread throughout his body of work. Having developed an evolving fascination with the relationship between the exterior and interior realms and the boundaries that define them, RERO has notably placed himself at the forefront of the urban conceptual experience.

RERO was born in 1983 and studied graphic design at the London College of Communication. His works have been shown in numerous public and private spaces, including Pompidou Center, Musée en Herbe and Musée de la Poste, Confluences in Paris and Antje Øklesund in Berlin. More recently, his work has been exhibited throughout France, the United States, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.