Damien Deroubaix

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Damien Deroubaix

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"TOXIC", 2006, ink and acrylic on paper, 200 x 150 cm

More images: www.artnews.org/damienderoubaix

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Catalogue

Take a catalogue, any catalogue with sales offers – not on art works but on products of mass consumption. The layout is invariably ghastly; the objects have been stashed to fit the page, the price tags, either in bold type or crossed out, have been stuck randomly and burdened with percentage signs and footnotes. In case you’re holding a mail order catalogue, you’ll know that its main goal is to make you believe that buying without getting up from your chair and
checking the quality of the product by yourself is actually a considerable advantage. A return voucher will make do. After all, who wants to walk up to the salesman in a countryside sex shop and ask for a plastic buttocks lamp with ears? The mail order dispenses with guilt. Yet, at the end of the day, a catalogue on art is hardly any different. True, the layout is mostly immaculate, the glossy paper holds four-colour reproductions, and a critic churns out a
pseudo-intelligent text. But it all boils down to the same business, though slightly less filthy. And the main point should not be obliterated here: art works are not to be experienced second
hand. The designer of the catalogue you’re currently holding in your hands should thank Damien Deroubaix, since the artist has already included prices, bubbles, and other artifices in
his paintings, thus considerably alleviating his task.

Marx

Be it a huge “PROLETAIRES” in an orange bubble, a nice “WERBUNG” (“publicity”), a promising “ULTRAMOD” (for “ultra-modern”) or a catchy “YEAH!”, Damien Deroubaix never hesitates to associate consumer culture and the ramshackle remains of the communist model. By chance, we’re spared Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, as Deroubaix is neatly sticking with a chubby Karl Marx... But there is an antinomy that feeds the artist’s entire body of work. A way of speaking and acting: I herewith present you the fanciest and neatest thing on earth onto which I’ve stuck atrocious stuff; take these well-wiped paintings that I’ve hidden behind horrible kebab-shaped lamps; here comes the world’s most beautiful
girl with a leg missing (talking of which, I believe I’m not the only one to be fascinated by the charismatic persona of Aimee Mullins); and here’s Marx reduced to an icon of consumption.
These ongoing confrontations prevent the viewer’s look to go past the surface and see the gorilla that hides beneath it, turned upside down. “I don’t see the woman who hides in the forest”, once painted a famous surrealist, while there wasn’t even a forest in his painting.

German

You could say that Damien Deroubaix is the most German of French painters. His work does not resemble that of Richter, Immendorff or Polke, but a substantial part of his words, images, and figures is indebted to the German culture. This probably has to do with provocation, for one (think of the famous image of a punk wearing a swastika on his kangaroo slip), but also with culture. For only Germany, in literature as well as cinema, has taken violence to such
lengths (from Müller to Fassbinder and Dada), not to make it a sales argument but to turn it against those who generate it daily. Fighting evil with evil by spitting in its face.

Lipstick traces

In his book Lipstick Traces, Greil Marcus traces and re-traces the lines and connections between three major movements in the 20th-century history of counter-culture: Dada, Lettrism (followed by Situationism), and the punk movement. Three adventures separated in time but resting on the same grounds of protest, refusal, cruelty, violence, dirt, and villainous humour. Three movements revolving around the same character: a rational moralist presenting himself to the public as a sociopath. But, equally, a clever teenager who holds few illusions about the adult world.

Blastbeats

I know. The music Damien Deroubaix listens and refers to has little in common with the punk of yesteryear. But what the heck; I’ll use it anyhow to prove my point. Let the purists revile. As far as I’m concerned, I prefer Scorn and Painkiller.

Violence, cruelty, and black humour

If you had a neatly grinded axe you could split Dada in two. One part would be the schoolboy jokes and proto-surrealism. The other would be black humour, violence, and cruelty. John Heartfield (1981–1968), first a painter then an illustrator and photo-layouter, would be part of
the second bunch.

Brothel

Because the girls are wearing leather or latex masks with thirty-or-so-inches-long needles stuck on them. Because, on top of their outfit, they have been substantially mutilated. Because the shark hovering over the installation Let there be rot at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in
Berlin or in Cologne’s Rheinschau is reminiscent of one of Steven Spielberg’s early films (though the plastic animal in Jaws is definitely less beautiful). Because the song titles (can you actually call this a “song”?), transformed into simple pyro-engraved slogans, were
borrowed from Napalm Death and other grindcore bands. Because the light bulbs have ceased to enlighten, now casting dark shadows. Because the bad taste of satirical magazines announcing “that asshole Ronald Reagan’s” death was blown up to twenty times its size and fixed to a wooden panel... You might think that these are the signs of the times. That it’s all about showing the ugliness and violence surrounding us – from mad dogs to first-degree pornography and provocative signs of consumption. That would be a short-sighted historic perspective and tantamount to letting oneself drown in the ambient melancholy, summed up in catchphrases like “believe you me, young lads, things were better before...”. No, really, it’s been a while that the world has been like this.

Setting a poser

Of course, John Heartfield is not a painter. His medium: photographic collage, with the slightest retouch to pull the wool over your eyes, to make you see a swastika-shaped heart in Adolf Hitler. But Heartfield’s materials, simultaneously political, ironic, and dramatic, are pretty much the same than those used by Damien Deroubaix. Only the historical context has changed. The works provoke, subverting the codes of advertisement to make antiadvertisement. The shallow and vulgar propaganda clashes with the artist’s violent and subtle propaganda.

Liquid

Damien Deroubaix’s painting is liquid. It flows like body juice. It stains the paper several times. It superimposes countless layers and soaks the surface. Just like Bacon wiped his popes with vitriol, Deroubaix has his protagonists trickle and drip. After all, the metal bands’ logos often associate the axe and the drop of blood. It’s the most primary of pictorial provocations you can think of: to make flow, to let piss, to spit and drool. The exact opposite of what is commonly understood when speaking of a “well-crafted” painting, of tidy outlines and planes.

In troubled waters

Some animals are meaner than others; they’re the ones Damien Deroubaix prefers. Most of all sharks. This animal is found both in Heartfield’s collages (6 Millionen Naziwähler: Futter für ein grosses Maul, 1930) and Bertolt Brecht’s anti-Nazi pamphlets (Wenn die Haifische Menschen wären, 1940). The shark also appears in Spielberg’s films, where it anticipates the colonies of desperate boat people about to strand at Cape Cod, on New England’s coastline
(Jaws, 1975). The shark is a beautiful contradiction. The fish with teeth, a thoroughbred that one would like to be gentle as a dolphin, and feed on plankton like a whale, and keep quiet. But there’s a hitch: once it opens its mouth, it displays a set of teeth that has the beach boys yell like there’s no tomorrow.

Mean

Heiner Müller’s language is mean. Tough. Compact and incisive. The same goes for Damien Deroubaix’s painting, his fierce animal teeth, his dismembered girls, his skinned kids, his
upper case letters. Heads fall in Hamlet Machine, women’s breasts are eaten by cancer, people tear up the author, rape and incest is ever-present. Here, the world hasn’t changed either; only the historical context... (as I’ve said earlier). Müller wanted to see Brecht at the peep show and, as far as I’m concerned, I’d love to see Hamlet Machine with a stage set designed by Deroubaix.

Name-dropping

“The question of ancestry in culture is spurious. Every new manifestation in culture rewrites the past, changes old maudits into new heroes, old heroes into those who should have never been born. New actors scavenge the past for ancestors, because ancestry is legitimacy and novelty is doubt – but in all times forgotten actors emerge from the past not as ancestors but as familiars.”
Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces. A Secret History of the Twentieth Century, Harvard University
Press, Cambridge (MASS) 1989

Worries

What links Dada and Mike Kelley’s, Raymond Pettibon’s and Paul McCarthy’s California to the sound of Napalm Death, Terrorizer or Slayer is a certain “anxiety” to provoke. I do mean “anxiety”, this feeling that has you knit your brows for hours on end and forget about time altogether. This thing that keeps you from sleeping at night and turns your stomach upside down. For as wiped as they may be, Damien Deroubaix’s liquid paintings express a constant anxiety towards the world. And no matter how provocative his assemblages, they’re not about satisfying his own little pleasure but about taking a stand. You can provoke by error, for no reason, without real intention. You can sit at home and stay alone with your worries and brood. The main difficulty lies in bringing the two together – “being anxious to provoke” – in one work of art.

Shark (encore)

“If sharks were men, there would, of course, also be art. There would be beautiful pictures, in which the sharks’ teeth would be portrayed in magnificent colors and their jaws as pure pleasure gardens, in which one could romp about splendidly.”
Bertold Brecht, Stories of Mr. Keuner (translated by Martin Chalmers), City Lights, San Francisco 2001

Thibaut de Ruyter

Damien Deroubaix

1972 born in Lille, France

Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Education

Ecole des beaux arts de Saint-Etienne, France
Akademie der bildenden Künste Karlsruhe, Germany

Grants

International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York – Cultures France
Berlin research grant – Fonds d´incitation à la création, Délégation aux Arts Plastiques, Paris
Artist residency, Karlsruhe – Office Franco-Allemand pour la Jeunesse

Solo Exhibitions

2011
La chaufferie, Strasbourg, F
Le Parvis, Tarbes, F
Chateau de Taurine, F

2010
Die Nacht, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, CH
Comma19, Bloomberg Space, London, UK

2009
Die Nacht, Villa Merkel, Esslingen, D
Die Nacht, Saarlandmuseum Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken, D
Nosbaum & Reding – Art Contemporain, Luxembourg
Sick Bizarre Defaced Creation, in Situ fabienne leclerc, Paris, France
Apokalyptische Reiter, URDLA, Villeurbanne, France
Utopia Burns, Filipp Rosbach Galerie, Leipzig, D

2008
(9) bis, St. Etienne, France (avec Assan Smati) 
Das große Glück, Sima Projekt, Nürnberg, Allemagne

2007
Lord of all Fevers and Plague, in Situ fabienne leclerc, Paris, France
oblivious to evil, Galerie de l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, Quimper, France
Lucid Fairytale, Le Transpalette, Bourges, France
World eater, Galerie JBB, Mulhouse, France
Babylon, Showroom Berlin, Berlin, Allemagne 
Die Nacht, o.T. Raum für aktuelle Kunst, Lucerne, Suisse
Space Invasion, Vienne, Autriche 

2006
Ia iak sakkakh iak sakkakth Ia shaxul Ia kingu ia cthulu ia azbul Ia azabua, Nosbaum & Reding – Art Contemporain, Luxembourg
Chemical Warfare, Autocenter, Berlin, Allemagne
No system can give the masses the proper social graces (avec Manuel Ocampo), vestibule de La Maison Rouge, Paris, France

2005
Art Basel Statement, in Situ fabienne leclerc, Bâle, Suisse
Human Waste, in Situ fabienne leclerc, Paris, France
Let there be rot (fun in the morgue), Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Allemagne

2004
Groupe Laura présente Karl Marx, espace public, Tours, France
Werbung, Nosbaum & Reding – Art Contemporain, Luxembourg
Rheinschau. Art Cologne Projects, Nosbaum & Reding – Art Contemporain, Cologne, Allemagne
Imbiss 2 (avec Kristina Solomoukha), Ecole des Beaux-Arts et Groupe Laura, Tours, France
Synthetically Revived, Konsortium, Düsseldorf, Allemagne
Catastrophic, Filiale Basel, Basel, Suisse

2003
Fear factory, in Situ fabienne leclerc, Paris, France
You suffer… but why?, Nouvelle Galerie, Grenoble, France
Symphonies of Sickness, VKS, Toulouse, France
Total Grind, Musée d’Art moderne et contemporain, Strasbourg, France
nouvelleobjectiviténeuesachlichkeit, Galerie Oeil, Forbach, France
Imbiss (with Kristina Solomoukha), La Galerie, Noisy-le-Sec, France

2002
la voix de son maître, paris project room, Paris, France
Magic Jackpot (with Kristina Solomoukha), Glassbox, Paris, France

1999
Im Lichthof, Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Karlsruhe, Allemagne

Group Exhibitions

2011
Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK

2010
Es werde Dunkel! Nachtdarstellungen in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Stadtgalerie Kiel
Es werde Dunkel! Nachtdarstellungen in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Kunstmuseum Alte Post, Mülheim a. d. Ruhr
Le meilleur des mondes, MUDAM, Luxembourg
Institut Français, Berlin
nominés du prix Marcel Duchamp, exposition universelle, french pavillon, Shanghai, China
de leur temps 3, Musée d'Art Moderne de Strasbourg, France
Damien Deroubaix, Xiang Lixing, Hu Jia Chen, open studio, Shanghai, China
Fantasmagoria, les Abattoirs, Musée d´art contemporain,Toulouse, F
Fantasmagoria, grotte du mas d´azil, F
Galerie Bongout, Berlin, D

2009
Arte Na França, O Realismo, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP, Sao Paulo, Brésil
Arte Na França, O Realismo, Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul Ado Malagoli – MARGS, Porto Alegre, Brésil
Espaço Cultural Contemporâneo, Brasilia, Brésil
Elusive Dreams 1, Les Hauts Du Ru, Montreuil France
Elusive Dreams 2, IMOCA, Irish Museum of Contemporary Art, Dublin, Irlande
La force de l’art 02, Grand Palais, Paris, France
40 ans de figuratif, Espace François Mitterrand, Périgueux, France
Es werde Dunkel! Nachtdarstellungen in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Städtische Galerie Bietigheim-Bissingen
Family Jewels, Bahnwärterhaus, Esslingen am Neckar

2008
Family Jewels, Bongoût Gallery, Berlin, Allemagne
Nao te posso ver nem pintado Museu Colecção Berardo, Lisbonne, Portugal
Des jeunes gens mödernes, galerie du jour Agnès B, Paris, France
Chung King Project, Los Angeles, USA
Endless Sickness, a3.artfor Galerie, Moscow, Russie
the ten last shots, Bongoût Galerie, Berlin, Allemagne
Mark Moore Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Weniger Geld, Mehr Liebe, TMP de Luxe, Berlin

2007
Inky Toy Affinitas, Cerealart, Philadelphia, USA
Ein abwertendes Bild der Frau, West Germany, Berlin, Allemagne 
Nosbaum & Reding at Artnews Projects, Berlin, Allemagne
Zone de défense, Kunstverein Kohlenhof, Nürnberg, Allemagne 
Works on paper, Gallery D'Amelio Terras, New York, USA
Heterotopias, 1st Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporay Art, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Grèce
Icons. Works on paper, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam, Pays-Bas
De leur Temps 2, Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble, France
Gaston Damag, Damien Deroubaix, Manuel Ocampo, Magnet Gallery, Manila, Philippines
Welcome to Our Neighbourhood, Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain, Luxembourg
Autocenter, Berlin

2006
Mental Image – Wortwerke und Textbilder, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Suisse
voir en peinture/two, La Générale, Paris, France
My Home Is My Castle, Parc Heintz, Luxembourg
Peinture/Malerei, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Allemagne
Vendanges tardives, URDLA, Villeurbanne, France
Société des Nations, factice et scindée en elle-même, Circuit, Lausanne, Suisse

2005
Team Gallery, New York, USA
Dépendance, Bruxelles, Belgique
Institut Français, Düsseldorf, Allemagne
Urbane Realitäten: Fokus Istanbul, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Allemagne
Ah Dieu ! que la guerre est jolie, FRAC Basse-Normandie, Caen, France
Sutton Lane Gallery, Londres, UK

2004
Grotesque, Burlesque, Parodie et autres propositions absurdes ou dérisoires, Centre d´art contemporain Abbaye Saint-André, Meymac, France
Negotiation: for love or money?, donzévansaanen, galerie d’art contemporain, Lausanne, Suisse
VF, Galerie Le Garage, Toulouse, France

2003
1ers degrés, Les Abattoirs de Riom, France

2002
Hinterm Bahnhof, Karlsruhe, Germany

Projects

C.S. (Conservative Shithead) a grindcore Journal, with Jérome Lefèvre

Collections

Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, CH
Saarlandmuseum Saarbrücken, Stiftung Saarländischer Kulturbesitz, D
The Museum Of Modern Art, New York, USA
Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain, Strasbourg, France
Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Mudam Luxembourg
Museu Colecção Berardo, Lisbonne, Portugal
Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain Basse-Normandie, Caen, France
Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, Paris, France
Musée d'Art Moderne Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Frac Limousin, Limoges, France

Bibliography

"World Downfall", catalog, 2008, texts: Nuit Banai and Max Henry
"SURGERY" (with no nesthesia) catalog, 2004
"ET HOP!" catalog 2005
Art press, february 2007, text: Thibaut de Ruyter
"welcome to our neighborough", catalog casino Luxembourg, 2007

Presse:
Damien Deroubaix, un homme nouveau- exposition à l'urdla revue Mouvement, décemnbre 2009, par Eric Vautrin
C.S. (Conservative Shithead) a grindcore journal, numéro 1, par Jérôme Lefèvre, septembre 2009
Damien Deroubaix, die Nacht Saarbrücker Zeitung, septembre 2009
Damien Deroubaix, le plus allemand des peintres français, Le figaro, par Valerie Duponchelle, 05 mai 2009
Exposition Deroubaix à la galerie Nosbaum&Reding, D'Lëtzebüerger Land, avril 2009
Les sirènes de New York, Le journal des arts, par Roxana Azimi, décembre 2008
Das große Glück, Nürnberger Zeitung, Décembre 2008
Particules numéro 20, carte blanche (arbre généalogique), juin-août 2008
Damien Deroubaix, la nausée, Art Press, n° 331, février 2007, pp. 44-46, par Thibaut de Ruyter
Damien Deroubaix, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Thomas Hirschhorn, in Gaël Charbau dir. , AF21.1 Art France 1990-2007, Editions Particules, Paris, 2007, pp. 120, 129 & 130
Peinture - Malerei, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 2006
Peinture - Malerei, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2006
Particules numéro 11, entretien avec Alain Berland, octobre - novembre 2005
Des générations, numéro 1,
etc....

Links

www.insituparis.fr
www.artcontemporain.lu

Damien Deroubaix

Galerie In SItu Fabienne Leclerc, Paris www.insituparis.fr
Galerie Nosbaum&Reding Luxembourg, www.artcontemporain.lu

damrijsel@yahoo.fr