
RERO French, b. 1983
(33 x 28 cm)
Framed
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.
The chosen phrases for RERO’s varied corpus of works circulate around these concepts of change and the chase toward an ideal. Dreams and ambitions mix with skepticism and often sarcasm, where his text delves into the complex psychosis of one who has lived, and perhaps suffered, through our modern world.
RERO’s work encourages balance. The ever-present strikethrough of his text is meant as a purposeful obfuscation of his intentions. Rather than lean into the extremes of his text’s sentiments, the artist prefers to leave the interpretation up to the viewer. One need not condone excessiveness nor austerity, but live somewhere in the middle. A poignant attitude to armor oneself with when faced with the frequent severity of opinions sampled within the pieces’ bold declarations.
RERO's butterflies represent metamorphosis, the optimal state it reaches through its process of growth and development, and an unconscious idealized mental image of someone, especially a parent or loved one, who influences a person’s behavior or promotes, develops, and facilitates change, resilience, and independence.RERO's notable collections include:
Collection Mohammed VI, King of Morocco
Fondation Montresso, Marrakesh, Morocco
Fondation Desperados, France
Fluctuart, Centro de arte urbano, Paris, France