Published by JRP|Editions. Edited with text by Fredi Fischli, Niels Olsen. Text by Anaïs von Holleben-Peiser, Matthew Linde.
Swiss conceptual artist Sylvie Fleury (born 1961) juxtaposes avant-garde garments by designers such as Thierry Mugler, Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier with an iconic work of Minimalism by Walter de Maria. Showcasing them side-by-side in the Bechtler Foundation (Zurich) window, Fleury transforms relics of consumerism into historical objects worthy of display in the art world. It is also an unprecedented insight into the artist's eccentric 1990s fashion collection.
Published by MAMCO Geneva. Edited by Lionel Bovier. Text by Thierry Davila, Ingrid Luquet-Gad.
Swiss mixed-media artist Sylvie Fleury (born 1961) has long been interested in depicting the juncture of materialism and materiality in contemporary consumer culture. Her 1998 installation Bedroom Ensemble II draws directly from soft sculpture artist Claes Oldenberg, who also created bedroom installations under the same title; through inconsistent scale and unusual textures, Oldenberg’s bedroom suggests a disconnect from reality that becomes more apparent the longer one studies the piece. Fleury’s piece amplifies and subverts such ideas with her own vocabulary of textures and colors. While Oldenberg’s bedroom is a particularly cold example of 1960s interior design, Fleury’s piece bursts with vitality, practically begging viewers to touch the colorful faux fur that covers every stick of furniture in the installation. This book is the first comprehensive study of Bedroom Ensemble II and its relationship to the other Fleury pieces in MAMCO Geneva’s collection.
Published by JRP|Ringier. Edited by Samuel Gross. Text by Alex Gartenfeld, Samuel Gross, Simon Lamunière.
Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury (born 1961) is known for her 90s mises-en-scènes of glamour, fashion and luxury products. An affirmation of the consumer society and its values at first glance, the work simultaneously offers a different reading: by blurring codes and organizing the contamination of one sphere by another, her pieces are provocative and political, reflecting and anticipating her epoch just as they participate in it. In her attempt to come to terms with the fetishistic attachment to material goods that is the defining feature of the world of fashion, Fleury--after years exploring car culture, and creating bronze renderings of luxury clothing and cosmetics--turned to magic light phenomena: colorful rooms, glossy surfaces, auras, pendulums and crystals. These works from the 2000s are presented together for the first time with her classic pieces from the 1990s in this reference monograph.
Published by Hatje Cantz. Edited by Gotz Adriani. Essays by Andreas Schalhorn, Ralph Melcher. Interview by Parker Williams.
Fashion girl Sylvie Fleury's work looks like a confirmation of the values of a consumer society, but it is much more of a bang for your buck than that. Subtly commenting on appearance for appearance's sake, she appropriates logos from fashion houses, perfume stores, and glossy magazines and uses them to identify the human passions and desires connected to them. In her attempt to come to terms with the fetishistic attachment to material goods that is the defining feature of the world of fashion, Fleury has recently turned to magic light phenomena, colorful rooms, flossy surfaces, magic auras, pendulums, and crystals. 49000, with a layout by the Swiss artist herself, presents work from the last two years along with classics from the 90s.