Le Gentil Garçon
Updated — 29/04/2025

Texts

A good pick

By Le Gentil Garçon — Translated by John Doherty, 2014

People say that my work derives from a logic of pleasure, and I admit that I enjoy racking my brains for flashes of wit. To be frank, I aim at a precise point in a zone that's oddly innervated, equidistant between brain and heart. The practice is all the more exhilarating for being risky. It takes rigour, and a relaxed attitude.
Relaxation's important. It's what makes people want to believe you, even if you're telling a tall story, and the trickery's plain to see. In any case, what happens behind the scenes is more interesting than what happens on the stage. Asking how things work – that's what children do. Children or scientists. It's pretty much the same thing. And there's nothing wrong with that.
So one day I decided I wanted to be like those who know about quantum theory, Boolean algebra, thermodynamics, transcendental numbers. But the longer I looked at the way the world worked, the more I doubted its reality. Its texture became changeable; it started slipping through my fingers. So I decided to stop learning, and, from then on, to invent the unknown. After all, not knowing means already having a point of view. But I'd got into a habit: I count on gravity to draw pretty curves, pretty parabolas.
In spite of everything, my ignorance remains boundless. Sometimes I fill in a few gaps, but very often I'm happy just to exhibit them. The equipment's minimal: no compass, just a good pick. Apart from that, I trust in my lucky star to come up trumps.

Texte de Julien Amouroux, exégète du Gentil Garçon

À propos des œuvres du Gentil Garçon dans la collection du FRAC Occitanie-Montpellier, 2019

Imagination

Par Emmanuel Latreille
Publié dans Tout Le Gentil Garçon, éditions Les Requins Marteaux, 2011

Aventure

Par Yves Tenret
Publié dans Tout Le Gentil Garçon, éditions Les Requins Marteaux, 2011

Masque

Par Emmanuel Latreille
Publié dans Tout Le Gentil Garçon, éditions Les Requins Marteaux, 2011

A good pick

By Le Gentil Garçon — Translated by John Doherty, 2014

Pop culture

Par Jérôme Dupeyrat
Publié dans Tout Le Gentil Garçon, éditions Les Requins Marteaux, 2011

Ironie

Par Yves Tenret
Publié dans Tout Le Gentil Garçon, éditions Les Requins Marteaux, 2011

Mort

Par Jackie-Ruth Meyer
Publié dans Tout Le Gentil Garçon, éditions Les Requins Marteaux, 2011

Le Gentil Garçon

Article de Thomas Bernard
Publié dans le Fluide Glacial n°531, 2020