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.
“SONGS WITHOUT WORDS…” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Miami, FL – SOLO
“XXL#2” Fondation Montresso | Marrakech, Morocco
“Rules of Engagement” Wunderkammern | Milan, Italy
“IBID (Expansion of Ideals)” Backslash Gallery | Paris, France
“NOT TOO FAR FROM REALITY…” El Museo de Arte Contemporaneo | Bogota, Colombia
“TOMESELO PERSONAL” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Bogota, Colombia – SOLO
“Transborder” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Los Angeles, CA
“GATED COMMUNITY” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Los Angeles, CA – SOLO
“CONTEXT Art Miami” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Miami, FL
“Environment” – GALERIE PARIS-BEIJING | Bruxelles
“Um panorama urbano” Caixa Cultural, Sao Paulo, 2014
“LAPS” Fondation Vasarely, Aix-en-Provence, France, 2014
“Art Paris Art Fair” Grand Palais, Paris, march 2014
Collection Nicolas Laugero Lasserre, Galerie Lasécu, Lille, jan. 2014
“UMWELT…” Galerie Paris-Beijing, Hotel Winssinger | Brussels, Belgium – SOLO
“Scope NY art fair” Fabien Castanier Gallery | New York, NY
“ERROR IN THE TITLE” Backslash Gallery | Paris, France – SOLO
“CONTEXT Art Miami” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Miami, FL
“Art Paris 2013” Grand Palais, Backslash Gallery | Paris, France
“Ex-Situ Collective” Centre Georges Pompidou Museum | Paris, France
“(de)constructions” Backslash Gallery | Paris, France
“Group Show: A4” Newsquare Gallery | Lille, France
“Scope NY 2013 Art Fair” Fabien Castanier Gallery | New York, NY
“Art Wynwood” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Miami, FL
“Los Angeles Art Show” Fabien Castanier Gallery | Los Angeles, CA
“Context Art Fair/Art Miami” | Art Basel Miami Beach | Florida | December
“SLICK 2012” | Paris | France | October
“POST MUSEUM (with Invader, JR, VHILS…)” | Musée de la Poste | Paris | France
“CONTEXTE” | Group show | Epinal | France
“IMAGE NOT AVAILABLE” | Fabien Castanier Gallery | Los Angeles | California | SOLO
“Eidolon” | Backslash Gallery | Paris | France | SOLO
“French Invasion” | Fabien Castanier Gallery | Los Angeles | California
“Musée en Herbe” | Paris | France | SOLO
“SLICK” | Esplanade du Palais de Tokyo and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris | Paris | France
“40 Years of Graffiti” | Organized by Galerie Mathgoth | Nancy
“Save the Jarry” | Monumental installation | Organized by Grade Six | Vincennes | France
“INDOOR / OUTDOOR” | Kommst kidney kannst of rausgucken | Able Baker & Gallery | Cologne | Germany
“Art on Paper” | Lebenson Gallery | Paris | France
“CLEAR” | Itinerrance Gallery | Paris | France
“Masat (Street Advertising Takeover Madrid)” | Madrid | Spain
“Urban Activity” | Jean Cocteau Cultural Center | Les Lilas | France
“ERROR 404 (Missing Link)” | Backslash Gallery | Paris | France | SOLO
“COPY MY RIGHT… Plagiarism is necessary, Progress implies it …” | Confluences | Paris | France | SOLO
“Backslash Presents” | Backslash Gallery | Paris | France
“THE WALL” | Espace des Blancs Coats | Paris | France
“Data out” | ENVRAC | Pop-Up Store | Paris | France
“Papergirl” | Neurotitan | Berlin | Germany
“PICTURE NOT AVAILABLE” | The Hybrid | Lille | France | SOLO
“You be Good” | Urban ARTYDANDY | Paris | France | SOLO
“Rerospektive: IMAGE DENIAL” | Antje Øklesund | Berlin | Germany | SOLO
“Women and I Hate Graffiti on Canvas” | Gallery BPD | Paris | France | SOLO
“400 ml Project” | House Steelworkers | Paris | France
“Heroes: Achilles to Zidane” | Bibliothèque Nationale de France | Paris | France
“Word Project” | London College of Communication | London | England
“Lizards of the Bievre” | Paris | France
“King’s River” | Paris | France | SOLO
“The Painters of the Mouff” | Cosi | Reims | France
“Project 13 Happy” | Workshop C. Virmaux | Paris | France
“1 support, 2 lives” | Paris Jeunes Talents | Paris | France | SOLO
Institut Français, Centre Saint-Louis, Rome (IT) Nov 2013
SUPERVISED INDEPENDENCE, Outdoor Festival & Wunderkammern Gallery, Universita Dell’Arte, Rome (IT), July 2013
DO NOT CROSS THE LINE, Centre Pompidou – Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris (FR) April 2013
Liu Bolin & Rero @ Backslash Gallery, organized by Galerie Paris-Bejing and Backslash Gallery, Paris (FR) 2013
LIEU COMMUN, with LE MUR, Plage du débarquement, Arromanches (FR) 2012
PAPETERIE DE LANA, Vosges (FR) 2012
PARADIGM, organized by Degré Six, La Jarry, Vincennes (FR) 2011
DEGAGE, with permission from the Town Hall of the 13th and Galerie Itinérance, 2011
Négation de la peur, Panic Room, Paris (FR) 2009
Festival du MOT, La Charité sur Loire, France 2009
Le M.U.R, Paris (FR) 2009
Nike, Footlocker, Paris (FR) 2008
Lieux de Passage, le 6 BIS, Vitry sur Seine (FR) 2008
Rue_Stick # 1, Passage des Taillandiers, Paris (FR) 2007
Lézarts de la Bièvre, Paris (FR) 2005
Norris Man, La Locomotive, Paris (FR) 2005
Amnesty International, Paris (FR) 2005