Gil J. Wolman
Born in 1929 in Paris.
Died in 1995 in Paris.
At the age of twenty, he separated the vowels from the consonants, thus creating Megapneumia.
In 1951, he made the Anticoncept, a film without images, projected onto a sound balloon, now in the collections of the M.N.A.M. In 1952, he founded the Lettrist International with Debord. Until 1957, he played an active part in the Lettrist movement. In 1956 he represented the Lettrist International at the Alba Congress, which laid the foundations for the future Situationist International. From 1957 onwards, he developed his own work, away from all the schools. In 1963, he invented the Art Scotch process, which consisted of tearing off strips of printed material using adhesive tape, which he then repositioned on canvas or wood. This was followed by "Séparations" in 1978, "dürhing dürhing" and "Décompositions" in 1979. The last part of his work, from 1991 onwards, was devoted to "Peinture dépeinte" (depicted painting). This time it was a question of separating the canvas from its subject.
Solo exhibitions (selection)
2024
Gil J. Wolman "Art Scotsch", Galleria Six, Milan
2023
Guy-Ernest Debord & Gil Joseph Wolman, Loeve & Co Marais, Paris
2011
Gil J Wolman "I am immortal and alive", Serralves Foundation, Porto, Portugal.
2010
Gil J Wolman "Œuvres 1961-1982", galerie Lara Vincy, Paris.
Gil J Wolman "Soy inmortal y estoy vivo", retrospective at the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA), Spain.
2001
Joseph Wolman, Les Ex-positions", FRAC Bourgogne, Dijon; Musée de l'Objet, Blois.
1994
Les Inhumations, paintings depicted 1991-1994", 691 subjects of paintings, Galerie de Paris, Paris.
1988
Wolman, Art scotch", Galerie Spiess, Paris.
1984
Faux Wolman de Wolman", Galerie Nane Stern, Paris.
1983
Le marché de l'art", Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris.
Gil Wolman, Galerie de l'Ancienne Poste, Calais.
1982
W La libertà", Galerie Spiess, Paris.
1981
Déchet d'œuvre", Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris.
1980
Wolman: la décomposition", Galerie Weiller, Paris.
Wolman S'en séparer ?", Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris.
1979
L'homme séparé par Wolman", Galerie Nane Stern, Paris.
Durhing Durhing", FIAC, Grand Palais, Paris.
Art scotch and red ink", Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna, Austria.
1978
Wolman, C'est le mouvement séparatiste qui provoque l'espace", Galerie Weiller, Paris.
1976
"Il faut rendre à Wolman ce qui appartient à Duchamp", Galerie Germain, Paris.
1975
Otto portraits, un artiste déchirant un critique déchiré", Galerie l'Oeil de Bœuf, Paris.
1974
Letters from Portugal v.o.", Galerie Weiller, Paris. Galerie Weiller, Paris.
1972
Main basse sur la vie", Valérie Schmidt Gallery, Paris.
1968
Dissolution and reconstitution of the movement", Valérie Schmidt Gallery, Paris.
Wolman, Maison de la Culture, Orléans.
1964
Art scotch", Valérie Schmidt gallery, Paris.
1963
7 adhesives on wood (laminations)", 3rd Biennale de Paris
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Group exhibitions (selection)
1985
Les immatériaux", Centre Georges Pompidou, M.N.A.M., Paris
1989
A propos de l'Internationale situationiste, 1957-1972", Centre Georges Pompidou, M.N.A.M., Paris
1993
Poésure et Peintrie", Centre de la Vieille Charité, Musées de Marseille, Marseille
1994
Hors Limite", Centre Georges Pompidou, M.N.A.M., Paris
1999
Faiseurs d'histoires", Casino Luxembourg, Forum d'art contemporain, Luxembourg
2003/2004
Figures de la négation", Musée d'Art Moderne Saint-Etienne Metropole, Saint-Etienne
Bibliography (selection)
2010
Gil J Wolman I am immortal and alive", 144 pages, ed, Macba & Serralves, Porto. texts by Frédéric Acquaviva, Kaira M. Cabañas, João Fernandes, Bartomeu Marí and Gil J Wolman.
2006
The Situationist International - (1957-1972)" published by Museum Tinguely - Basel. Exhibition catalogue.
2004
Les Situationnistes l'utopie incarnée" Laurent Chollet, éditions Découvertes Gallimard, Paris. Pocket-sized encyclopaedic collection, black and white and colour photographs.
2001
Wolman - défense de mourir" éditions Allia, 400 p. Monograph produced for the retrospective "Gil Joseph Wolman: les Ex-positions", in Dijon and Blois. Poems, essays, black and white and colour photographs.
1995
Wolman, Les inhumations, ceci n'est pas un livre", 240 pages, published by Allia, Paris.
1984
L'homme séparé par Wolman" éditions Spiess et Nane Stern, 120 p. Essay.
1998
L'anticoncept" Gil Joseph Wolman, published by Allia. Biographical essay.
1981
Wolman résumé des chapitres précédents", 222 pages, Spiess, Paris. Monographic essay.
Audio recordings and films by and about Gil Wolman (selection):
1999
L'anticoncept" published by Alga Marghen, Milan, (400 copies) undated. 33 rpm vinyl disc.
1998
L'anticoncept" Gil Joseph Wolman, éditions Allia. VHS film.
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