Untitled

Placed against a wall, this work seems to be waiting to be hung. As one approaches, one discovers the materiality of what, at first glance, looks like a minimal work—a black square on a blue background. There are two rectangles of used plastic-edged doormats, one placed at the foot of the work, the other fixed at an angle directly onto the midnight blue surface of the huge painted canvas resting on two metal crosspieces. Inlaid with chewing gum at various points like stars, the latter recalls the map of a constellation on the firmament. The blue of space and the infinity of art are no longer the prerogative of museums and planetariums: they can be found at our feet, in the most imperceptible aspects of our daily lives. Inspired as much by the Dadaist lesson of Marcel Duchamp as by the poor materials and devices of Arte Povera, David Hammons collects worthless materials, most often found in the street. With the knowledge of an art historian and the political and poetic rage that leads him to reject castes and artistic categories, he raises them to the level of great art and seizes power.

This work was presented for the first time in 2021 by the Pinault Collection in the inaugural exhibition of the Bourse de Commerce, entitled "Ouverture".