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Artist Thierry Geoffroy/Colonel: Art in Advance of the Catastrophe
For Thierry Geoffroy, also known as Colonel, art must respond to the present before it’s too late: “I’m interested to see if I can be in advance of the catastrophe,” he continues: “If we’re too late, then we’re too late.” Geoffroy describes his practice as “format art about emergencies.” Each format has a set of rules that allows it to be repeated anywhere in the world. In his work ‘Emergency Room’, the artist creates and exhibits new works in response to the day’s news. Every afternoon, yesterday’s works are replaced, followed by a public debate: “I want to take the question: Why do museums not address urgent matter at the moment they happen? The ‘Emergency Room’ came as a solution.”
Geoffroy has his own daily work that confronts subjects such as war, climate change and public apathy. He is particularly concerned with images that make extreme temperatures appear enjoyable or even glamorous: “Maybe [people] get used to this glamorous vision of climate change, so they don’t protest so much,” he suggests.
Whether working in a museum, on the street or online, Geoffroy aims to train what he categorises as our “awareness muscle”. “The more you train your awareness muscle, the more aware you are,” he explains. For him, awareness must lead to action: “We can change the world, but it needs a strategy.”
Thierry Geoffroy (b. 1961, France), also known as Colonel, is a Danish-French artist based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is known for his conceptual art using a wide variety of media, including video, installations, and collaborative performances with other artists. His work has been shown at MoMA PS1, New York; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, the Sprengel Museum, Hannover; ZKM Karlsruhe and the Venice Biennale, Italy. He has also exhibited at the National Gallery of Denmark, KUMU Art Museum and the National Museum of Iceland. In 2003, he was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Thierry Geoffroy was interviewed by Signe Boe Pedersen in Copenhagen, June 2026.
Camera: Rasmus Quistgaard
Edited and produced by Signe Boe Pedersen
Music by Thierry Geoffroy / Colonel
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2026
Louisiana Channel is supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond.
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