Francois DU PLESSIS
1961

Books are usually associated with literature. Certain books have aesthetic value as objects, yet their main function is reading or looking.

Francois du Plessis (b. 1961, Zimbabwe), however, sees something completely different in books. He is not at all interested in the literary value or content of a book. He sees books as objects, as individual bodies with which he works artistically. In a first stage, he chopped up books, which he then assembled and sometimes painted, closing off the contents to the viewer. In certain cases, only a book title was retained which then immediately became the title of the work. Gradually his attention turned more and more to the book’s cut. The most famous of course is the gilded cut, but in addition there are also very colorful and even marbled bookcuts. By making a sophisticated selection of book cuts and by cutting, bending, folding and compressing books, the artist obtains objects reminiscent of disks of a tree trunk with colored annual rings. And so he completes the circle: from the wood of trees one makes paper, from paper books and from books…works of art that resemble trees.

In his current work, color is essential. Whether it is a book of philosophical tracts or a train station novel, it does not matter: as long as the cut has a distinct and striking color. Not surprisingly, du Plessis’ South African roots are reflected in the use of color.

Francois du Plessis’ unconventional book objects stand out for their great poeticism and refined aesthetic in which he manages to strike a balance between clean line and organic form.

François du Plessis grew up in South Africa but left that country at the age of 24 because of Apartheid politics. From 1985 to 1988, he traveled around Europe, the Middle East and Turkey. Eventually he settled in Aachen, Germany, where he still lives and works.

Meanwhile, du Plessis is internationally known and has exhibited at art fairs in Cologne, Brussels and Amsterdam, among others. His work can be found in renowned galleries and private collections throughout Europe and the United States.

Marc Campens