Thierry Geoffroy/Colonel French, b. 1961

Thierry Geoffroy, born 1961 - also known under his artist alias ‘Colonel’ - is a french artist, living in Copenhagen, Denmark. In his artistic practice Geoffroy focuses on the present, the current state of things and the crises of the world, reflecting on where we as a society are heading and how we deal with the problems we encounter on the way. He is a format artist, developing art formats, working with a wide variety of media including video and installations. His most known art formats include Emergency room, Biennalist and Critical Run.

In his 1989 manifesto, Geoffroy laid the groundwork for his practice, developing the concept of the “moving exhibition” and various forms of participation by defining categories such as the type bourgeoise, the type offensive and the type exhibitionniste. The basic premise is that “The moving exhibition is mobile in space and mobile in its expression, it adapts to life.” While the artist of the type bourgeoise stays out of the public eye in his work, the type semi-bourgeoise refers to an audience in the art context. In this way, Geoffroy increases the focus on the public.

Geoffroy has published ten books and his artworks have been shown in numerous international museum collections, including; MoMA PS1, New York; ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Pan | Palazzo delle Arti Napoli; Kunsthalle Mannheim; Sprengel Museum, Hanover; Vejle Museum of Art. He has participated in the following biennials: Biennale di Venezia (pavilion of the Maldives); Liverpool Biennial; Manifesta 8 – the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Murcia, Spain; Cairo Biennale; Biennale Internationale de Casablanca. 

Thierry Geoffroy is Chevalier of the Order of the Arts and Literature and his works can be found in the collections of the Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, the National Museum of Photography in Copenhagen, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Kunsthalle Mannheim and many others.