The Mondrian Initiative Artist in Residence in 2024 is Emanuele Coccia, widely published philosopher and associate Professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. After working on the history of European normativity and aesthetics, Emanuele’s current research focuses on conceptions of life and on the ontological status and normative power of images in art, fashion and advertising. Regarding these matters, he has published numerous books, including his most famous ‘The Life of Plants: A Metaphysics of Mixture’ (2016/2018), in which he proposes a new reading of the genesis of life starting from plants.
Biography
Emanuele Coccia (1976) is an Italian philosopher who lives in Paris, where he is associate Professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). He was Assistant Professor at the University of Freiburg from 2008-2011 and was a visiting professor at the universities of Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Düsseldorf, Columbia and Harvard.
After earning his doctorate in medieval philosophy and philology at the University of Florence, Emanuele received post-doctoral grants at the Max Planck Institut in Frankfurt am Main, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. After working on the history of European normativity and aesthetics, Emanuele’s current research focuses on conceptions of life and on the ontological status and normative power of images in art, fashion and advertising.
Publications
Regarding these matters, he has published numerous books, including his most famous ‘The Life of Plants: A Metaphysics of Mixture’ (2016/2018), in which the author proposes a new reading of the genesis of life starting from plants. Other publications include ‘Goods: Advertising, Urban Space and the Moral Law of the Image’ (2018) and ‘Sensible Life. A Micro-Ontology of the Image’ (2010/2016). Together with philosopher Giorgio Agamben he edited a book on the representation of angels in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: ‘Angeli. Ebraismo Cristianesimo Islam’ (2009). Further, together with Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen, he published ‘Modern Alchemy’ (2022).
Cross-overs between philosophy and the arts
Emanuele has become a key figure in the global contemporary art scene, often hosting art talks, most recently at Thaddaeus Ropac and Centre Pompidou. Further, he recently joined forces with renowned artists in the making of animated videos, such as Quercus (2020, with Formafantasma – Andrea Trimarchi & Simone Farresin), Heaven in Matter (2021, with Faye Formisano) and The Portal of Mysteries (2022, with Dotdotdot). In 2019, Emanuele co-curated Trees, an ambitious exhibition devoted to these exceptional living beings with unexpected faculties and yet widely threatened today, which was held at the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in Paris. IN 2022, he edited the catalogue for the 23rd Triennale di Milano, Unknown Unknowns: An Introduction to Mysteries. Emanuele is currently working alongside Alessandro Michele, Creative Director of Gucci, on a publication which explores the relationships between fashion and philosophy. As part of the course “The Ego in Things: Fashion as a Moral Laboratory” at Harvard, Emanuele invited Alessandro to discuss his poetics and the role of fashion in creation of identity.
News
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In bookstores now: Philosophy of the Home
Emanuele Coccia’s 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 is now available for the Dutch audience! In this book, our last year’s resident takes spaces such as the kitchen, the bathroom and the hallway as points of departure for reflections on their cultural meaning and on the ways in which we experience our homes. Through television, public space has…
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Video Artist Talk: Emanuele Coccia x Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Annet Gelink Gallery
Starting from his solo exhibition ‘When it’s almost dark (13 Sep – 16 Nov 2024) at Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam, artist Giorgio Andreotta Calò entered into a dialogue with Emanuele Coccia, recipient of The Mondrian Prize 2024, on 9 November 2024. Moderated by curator Aveline de Bruin, they talked about his practice and previous projects.…
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Artist Thomas Hirschhorn installs Mondrian Altar in Laren
On the occasion of the Dooyewaard Foundation’s 30th anniversary, subsidiary initiative The Mondrian Initiative has invited Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn to create a unique temporary artwork in Laren. His Mondrian Altar (1997) is a monumental tribute to the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, who stayed in Laren in the early twentieth century and developed the core…
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Siebe Tettero
In the spirit of Piet Mondrian’s Laren period, when he surrounded himself with like-minded artists and thinkers and created some of his first radically abstract works that sparked modern life, philosopher Emanuele Coccia (2024 Resident The Mondrian Initiative) invited a number of influential thinkers, artists and architects for his series ‘The Laren Dialogues’. His final…
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Simone Farresin (Formafantasma)
Over the course of 2024, The Mondrian Initiative Resident Emanuele Coccia together with curator Béatrice Grenier (Director of Curatorial Affairs, Fondation Cartier, Paris) invited a range of influential thinkers for a series of dialogues around Metropolitan Nature. Among their guests was Simone Farresin, part of design duo Formafantasma. Formafantasma is a research-based design studio investigating…
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François-Ghislain Morillion
The Mondrian Initiative 2024 Resident Emanuele Coccia and curator Béatrice Grenier initiated ‘The Laren Dialogues’: conversations taking place with protagonists of the near future about rethinking the planet and its form. Among their guests over the course of 2024: François-Ghislain Morillion. Childhood friends Sebastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion founded sustainable shoe brand Veja in 2004,…
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Wang Hui
The Mondrian Initiative 2024 Resident Emanuele Coccia and curator Béatrice Grenier initiated ‘The Laren Dialogues’: conversations taking place with protagonists of the near future about rethinking the planet and its form. Among their guests over the course of 2024 was Wang Hui. Wang Hui (Yangzhou, 10 October 1959) is a professor in the Department of…
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Elie Ayache
Filosoof Emanuele Coccia centreert zijn residentie bij The Mondrian Initiative rond dialogen over het concept van Metropolitan Nature. Samen met Béatrice Grenier, directeur Curatorial Affairs bij Fondation Cartier in Parijs, ontvangt hij in de loop van 2024 een reeks invloedrijke denkers, waaronder Elie Ayache. Elie Ayache (Libanon, 1966) is opgeleid als ingenieur aan de École…
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Guillermo Trotti
The Mondrian Initiative 2024 Resident Emanuele Coccia and curator Béatrice Grenier initiated ‘The Laren Dialogues’: conversations taking place with protagonists of the near future about rethinking the planet and its form. Among their guests over the course of 2024: Guillermo Trotti. Guillermo Trotti is an architect and industrial designer. His work covers a wide range…
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Bernard Khoury
Philosopher Emanuele Coccia centers his residency at The Mondrian Initiative around dialogues on the concept of Metropolitan Nature. Together with Béatrice Grenier, Director of Curatorial Affairs at Fondation Cartier, Paris, he welcomes a range of heavily influential thinkers over the course of 2024. One of his guests: Bernard Khoury. Bernard Khoury studied architecture at the Rhode…
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Amateur Architecture Studio and Aziza Chaouni
The Mondrian Initiative 2024 Resident Emanuele Coccia and curator Béatrice Grenier initiated ‘The Laren Dialogues’: conversations taking place with protagonists of the near future about rethinking the planet and its form. Among their guests over the course of 2024 were Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu (Amateur Architecture Studio). Amateur Architecture Studio Amateur Architecture Studio is…