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Mêlées is the first monograph on the work of Olivier Vadrot (b. 1970). Through multiple interviews and comprehensive illustrations, the book provides an account of an artistic trajectory at the intersection of several fields: architecture, design, exhibition design and curation, theater, and musical performance.
While studying architecture, Olivier Vadrot embarked on the collective adventure of the Théâtre Pluzdank. He co-founded the contemporary art center La Salle de bains in Lyon, then the Cocktail Designers collective through which he designed several listening devices for record labels. His residency as a scenographer at the Villa Médicis (2012–13) marked an important turning point in his career, which led him to survey most of the ancient performance buildings. His personal practice has recently come to the fore, refocused on micro-architectures for congregation. While some of these devices are nomadic and ephemeral, others have been more permanently implanted in public space. As design historian Tony Côme points out in a text that runs throughout the book, Olivier Vadrot pays rigorous attention to the material conditions of existence of the objects he produces: economy of production, multiplicity of uses including transport, assembly, storage, possible adaptations, maintenance, and regeneration.
Book in French and English.
224 pages. 206 illustrations. Format: 165 × 248 mm. Binding: Otabind.
Mêlées received support from Frac Franche-Comté and the Kunstverein Milano, and publishing assistance from the Centre national des arts plastiques.
Author: Tony Côme. Editorial concept and design: Catalogue Général. Edited by Tony Côme. Texts translated from the French by Matthew Cunningham.
ISBN: 979-10-92677-07-2. Published in January 2020.