ABOUT
Etienne de France (b. 1984, Paris) is a visual artist, currently based in Paris, France. After studying Art History & Archaeology in Paris, he completed a B.A in Visual Arts at the Iceland Art Academy of Reykjavik in 2008.
Unfolding his practice through films, photography, writing, drawing and installation, the artist is engaged into a long-term research on the relationships between notions of nature and landscape.
His first works questioned the liminal spaces between fiction and reality, science and imagination, a practice illustrated by his film and body of works Tales of a Sea Cow (2012), a dialog with biologists on the interactions between animal and human cultures. Since 2012, his practice has been engaged into a questioning of landscape as a space of resilience and imagination, developing cooperation with farmers, environmental activists and architects, such as in the works The Green Vessel (2015-2019), Looking for the Perfect Landscape (2017) and Field (2020).
Etienne de France CV
1984, in Paris (France).
Lives and works between Marmeaux and Paris (France).
Education
2005-2008 : B.A, Visual Arts, Iceland Academy of Arts, Reykjavik, Iceland.
2005-2002 : Bachelor in Art History, University of Paris 1 Sorbonne, Paris, France.
Solo Exhibitions (selection)
2023 : The Telling of the Oaks, La Maison Composer, Les Piloux, France
2019 : Champ, Hors Cadre, Auxerre, France.
2016 : From The Green Vessel, Te Whare Herā Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand.
2015 : The Vessels, École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-La Villette, Paris, France.
2014 : Rise, BYCR Gallery, Milan, Italy.
2012 : Tales of a Sea Cow, Parco Arte Vivente, Torino, Italy.
2010 : Icelandtrain Collection Fashion Show, National Gallery of Iceland
2007 : Utopia and Last Blah-Blah Before You Go, Ási Art Center, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Group exhibitions (selection)
2022 : Del cielo al agua y lo que está en el centro, MAC-Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago, Chili.
2022 : Les Territoires et la Carte, Centre Culturel Jean Cocteau, Les Lilas, France.
2021 : Atterrir, CAC La Ferme du Buisson, Noisiel, France.
2021 : Breathturn, Ostrale Biennale for Contemporary Art, Dresden, Germany.
2020 : Ecology and New Functionality.
Evolving Relations Between Man and Nature, online exhibition, curated by Victoria Kondrashova, Marina Vinogradova, Dmitry Ryabkov.
2020 : DE-celerate, Te Tuhi Art Centre, Auckland, New-Zealand.
2019 : El tercer paisaje, 14th Bienal de Artes Mediales, Santiago, Chile.
2019 : Paroxysm of Sublime, LACE, Los Angeles, USA.
2019 : From the island to the world, International Center of Art and Landscape at Vassivière Island, France.
2019 : Once a time in the West, Frac Nouvelle-Aquitaine MÉCA, France.
2018 : Domóticas para hoy y mañana: La fábula de abandonar tu zona de confort, Artbo Salitre, Bogotá, Colombia.
2018 : Expanded Documentary Film Section, International Documentary Exhibition of Bogotá-MIDBO, Pontificial University Javeriana of Bogotá, Colombia.
2017 : Cubo Arte, Fundación Mar Adentro, La Serena-Coquimbo, Chile.
2017 : Le Musée Passager, Île de France Region, France.
2017 : Eterna trilogia: retratos, paisagens e naturezas-mortas, Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo, Brazil.
2016 : Échos Sauvages, Atelier Alain Le Bras, Nantes, France.
2016 : Forget the architecture : 25 years of architecture in Vassivière, International Center of Art and Landscape at Vassivière Island, France.
2016 : KINGDOM – Flora, Fauna, Fable, Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland.
2014 : Hors les Murs, National Museum of Natural History, FIAC, France.
2013 : Mediterranea 16, MKC-Multimedia Center Split, Croatia.
2013 : Vues, Domaine de Chamarande, France.
2013 : Alternative Nomadi-Mediterranea 16, MA*GA Museum, Milano, Italy.
2013 : Who Controls the Controllers (?), Galleria Clou, Ragusa, Italy.
2013 : Milieux, Domaine de Chamarande, Chamarande, France.
2012 : Inspired by Iceland, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
2011 : Subduction, We-Space, Brusells, Belgium.
2010 : Nine, Kopavogur Art Museum, Kopavogur, Iceland.
2009 : E-MobiLart Exhibition, State Museum of Modern Art, Thessaloniki, Greece.
2008 : The Word of God, Akureyri Art Museum, Iceland.
Selected festivals and screenings (selection)
2022 : Tales of a Sea Cow, Festival de l’Histoire de l’Art de Fontainebleau, France.
2022 : Tales of a Sea Cow, JIFA, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France.
2021 : Champ (film), Ferme du Buisson, Noisiel, France.
2021 : Retrospective screening and seminar, Doc’s Kingdom, Lisboa, Portugal.
2020 : The Green Vessel (film), TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Tenerife, Spain.
2020 : Champ (film), Doclisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
2019 : The Green Vessel (film), Synesthésie MMaintenant, Saint-Denis, France.
2019 : Looking for the Perfect Landscape (film), MAC Lyon, France.
2019 : The Green Vessel (film), FIDMarseille, Marseille, France.
2019 : Looking for the Perfect Landscape (film), Fondation d’entreprise Ricard, Paris, France.
2018 : VideoVideo, 9th Edition Festival Video Art, Besanceuil, France.
2017 : Looking for the Perfect Landscape (film), Parker, Colorado River Indian Tribe.
2017 : Looking for the Perfect Landscape (film), Echo Park Film Center, Flax Foundation, Los Angeles, United States.
2017 : Tales of a Sea Cow (film), Fundación Mar Adentro, in the context of the 4th International Marine Protected Congress, La Serena-Coquimbo, Chile.
2017 : Field (film), Contemporary Art Center of Ivry – Crédac, France.
2017 : Tales of a Sea Cow (film), 1st Antarctic Biennale, Antarctica.
2016 : Tales of a Sea Cow (film), Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
2015 : Tales of a Sea Cow (film), FLORA Ars+Natura, Bogotá, Colombia.
2015 : Tales of a Sea Cow (film), The Hospital Club, London, England.
2015 : Exploration of a Failure (video), Verbo, Gallery Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil.
2014 : Tales of a Sea Cow (film), Gimli Festival, Manitoba, Canada
2014 : Tales of a Sea Cow (film), Polansky Gallery, Praha, Czech Republic.
2013 : Tales of a Sea Cow (film), Wild Talk Africa, Durban, South Africa
2013 : Tales of a Sea Cow (film), LICHTER Filmfest Frankfurt International, Germany.
2012 : Tales of a Sea Cow, (film) Shorts and Docs Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland.
2010 : Tales of a Sea Cow, (A/V performance), Festival del Imagen, Manizales, Colombia.
2009 : Tales of a Sea Cow, (A/V performance), Manobra Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
2009 : Tales of a Sea Cow, (A/V performance), Plektrum Festival, Tallinn, Estonia.
2008 : Tales of a Sea Cow (Video), Instants Video Festival, Marseille, France.
2007 : Eyma (Vidéo), Midi des Jeunes Talents. Festival de Loire, Orléans, France.
Prizes and residencies
2020-2021 : Artist residency, Contemporary Art Center Brétigny, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France.
2020-2021 : Artist residency, Archeology National Museum, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France.
2017 : Artist residency, Flax Foundation, Los Angeles, USA.
2017 : Artist residency in Bosque Pehuén, Fundación Mar Adentro, Chile.
2016 : Artist Residency, Künstlerhäuser Worpswede, Germany. (In exchange with International Center of Art and Landscape at Vassivière Island, France).
2016 : Artist residency Te Whare Hēra, Wellington, New Zeland.
2015 : Artist residency FLORA Ars Natura, Bogotá/Honda
2015 : Artist residency FAAP, São Paulo, Brazil.
2015 : Research residency, The International Center of Art and Landscape at Vassivière Island, France.
2014 : Nominated for the COAL Prize, Art et Environment.
2013 : Residency in Domaine de Chamarande, Chamarande, France.
2013 : Residency in CANTE, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
2012 : Special Jury Mention Tales of a Sea Cow (documentary), Festival Short and Docs, Reykjavik, Iceland.
2010 : SIM Residency, Berlin, Germany.
2009 : Les Pixels Transversaux Residency, Sèvres, France.
2008-2009 : E-MobiLart (European Mobile Lab for Interactive Artists). Athens, Rovaniemi, Vienna.
2008 : Pennin Award for Young Artists, Iceland.
Public Collections
Frac Poitou-Charentes
Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo, Brazil.
City of Gelos, (Pau), France.
Departmental Contemporary Art Collection of Essonne, (FDAC), France.
National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.