GENERATION DO

Cohle Gallery is happy to present Génération Do, the new solo show from French artist Geoffrey Bouillot. For this exhibition, the artist was inspired by childhood nostalgia as well as French and Japanese pop culture of the 90’s. These works represent a meeting point between memory and the present, examining how cultural entities influence our psyches.

Here, Geoffrey will bring the viewer on a journey through time, inviting them to experience this collective nostalgia from a fresh and modern perspective thanks to his geometric and monochromatic style. The exhibition in Paris also constitutes a full circle moment for the artist, linking his childhood memories in France with his career and family life in Japan today.

Geoffrey Bouillot was born in Chalon-sur-Saône, France in 1990. He now lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. The interaction between these two cultures has greatly inspired and nourished his artistic identity. Geoffrey’s work is a perfect example of contemporary art: clean, innovative and modern. His cultural influences include elements of manga whereby composition is meticulously organized, the use of smooth flowing lines and forms that play with light. These elements are harmoniously combined with the artists other influences, including pop art cubism and Italian futurism.

Geoffrey believes that the role of the artist is to capture the present moment, as fleeting as it may be, in order to reveal its inherent beauty. In his monochromes we find rhythmic and organized forms, resting somewhere between light and darkness, simultaneously eclectic and minimalist. His work is often described as ‘a piling of metal cylindrical and spheric forms’ where ‘each figure transformés nostalgic drawings into unknown entities, bringing about a visual culture shock’.

The exhibitions’ title references a former TV show entitled Club Dorothée, oftentimes shortened to Club Do’. The show, which ran in France for 10 years from 1987 au 1997, was targeted towards children and young people. It consisted of an eclectic mix of games, competitions, dongs sun by the presented Dorothée and Japanese cartoons. The show was extremely popular among young people of 90’s France, with Geoffrey being no exception.

With the help of Club Dorothée, Japanese animation had a lasting effect of the young artist. Fascinated by these moving images, his passion for Japanese culture was ignited. Years later, this same passion inspired Geoffrey to leave France in order to live and work in Tokyo. In this regard, these first experiences of Japanese culture in the form of cartoons would also go on to inspire his artistic style and choice of subject matter years later. By choosing the title ‘Génération Do’, the artist is paying tribute to these first artistic influences of the 90’s, while also creating a link with those people who, like him, now adults, are all a part of this generation.

In this exhibition, Geoffrey presents the viewer with well known characters from Japanese series such as Sailor Moon or Goku. He also used references from 90’s French pop culture, including an image of Dorothée and her co-host Ariana singing together, always in varying tones of black and white. Geoffrey’s semi-abstract technique distorts the pop culture images, evoking a feeling of memory. These energetic compositions give new life to these characters, giving them a modern and timeless feel. He also mixes aspects of the past and the present for example, presenting an image of himself aged 6. On the same canvas this younger version of the artist is joined by his own daughter from the present day who is of a similar age. They are joined together in this tender image, offering a commentary on the themes of time and human experience.

The exhibition will be held from the 13th of October until the 5th of November at Cohle Gallery Paris, 7 rue d’Argenteuil, 75001. The exhibition opening will take place on Thursday the 13th of October in the presence of the artist.