Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa

October 26, 2023 to January 7, 2024

Benoît Piéron
Monstera deliciosa

Curated by Manuela Ammer

In his first solo museum exhibition, French artist Benoît Piéron invites us into the kind of a waiting room we are all familiar with from doctors’ offices and hospitals. Piéron’s waiting room is not a place to “kill” time, however, but a site of metamorphosis into which the outside world intrudes in the form of enigmatic objects and images. Snow globes, a chromatic cloudy sky, the play of light and shadow, a water leak, and the figure of a bat turn a forlorn space into a vibrant and lyrical setting.

Piéron’s artistic practice is informed by a lifelong history of illness. He deals in his work with how sick bodies are treated by the medical profession and by society as well as his own experiences of waiting and uncertainty, of care and intimacy. The artist thus transforms his own illness into an art of survival.

A yellow cleaning bucket stands in front of an empty wall.

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Exhibition View: Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa

Photo: Georg Petermichl © mumok

The detail shows a costume top made from different coloured pieces of fabric.

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Exhibition View: Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa

Photo: Georg Petermichl © mumok

Two snow globes stand on a white table. Two beige armchairs can be seen in the background.

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Exhibition View: Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa

Photo: Georg Petermichl © mumok

Various white armchairs and benches stand next to low white tables. There are snow globes with plastic figures on the tables. On the left is a yellow cleaning bucket on castors.

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Exhibition View: Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa

Photo: Georg Petermichl © mumok

A colourful costume top hangs on a clothes hanger on a clothes rack. The costume was sewn together from different pieces of fabric.

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Exhibition View: Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa

Photo: Georg Petermichl © mumok

In the centre of the exhibition room is a low white table with snow globes on it. Behind it and to the left of it are a bench and an armchair.

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Exhibition View: Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa

Photo: Georg Petermichl © mumok

There are two snow globes on a white side table. In one snow globe there is a model of a kidney, in the other snow globe there is a pink figure.

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Exhibition View: Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa
Photo: Georg Petermichl © mumok

In the corner of the exhibition room, there is a small white table with two snow globes. On the left is a beige armchair with armrests. On the right is a bench with a backrest and four seats.

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Exhibition View: Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa
Photo: Georg Petermichl © mumok

There are two benches to the left and right of a low white table.

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Exhibition View: Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa

Photo: Georg Petermichl © mumok

A snow globe stands on a white table. Inside the snow globe is a plastic figure in the shape of a red blood cell.

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The detail shows a yellow cleaning bucket with pink plastic balls in it.

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Video Portrait

Benoît Piéron’s artistic practice is informed by a lifelong history of illness, with his childhood having been mostly spent in hospital. He deals in his work with how sick bodies are treated by the medical profession and by society as well as his own experiences of waiting and uncertainty, of care and intimacy.

In this video portrait, Benoît Piéron talks about his exhibition at mumok.

Artist Talk: Monstera deliciosa
Conversation between Benoît Piéron and Élisabeth Lebovici

Based on his exhibition Monstera deliciosa, the artist engages in a conversation with art historian Élisabeth Lebovici about the institutional and social treatment of sick bodies—and about art as an aid to survival.

Cover of the publication Monstera Deliciosa. Benoit Pieron

Book | 2023

Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa

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Benoît Piéron. Monstera deliciosa