Reassembling Logos Into Wry, Satirical Art

François Curlet’s art is both sharply critical and lovingly crafted--it’s an odd but compelling combination. How many billions of dollars (and trillions of man hours) have gone into strategizing and designing the logos hanging in Antwerp’s Galerie Micheline Szwajcer this month? There’s the blue Skype bubble, the bold Wild West serif of mega-discount chain Lidl, and the playful percent sign of Dia, a Carrefour subsidiary. But these signs weren’t manufactured in a factory. Rather, they were made by hand, expertly crafted by the French conceptual artist François Curlet, who uses reclaimed formica tabletops to build the sculptures. Curlet’s fifth solo show at the gallery, Vintage Discounter, is on view until the end of January.Read Full Story