As Director of Exhibitions and Collections at MONA since its opening in 2006, Olivier has been responsible for the acquisition of the museum’s contemporary art collection and its exhibitions programmation for which he oversaw over 35 shows for the museum. Alongside his work at MONA, he has brought many art projects to life by collaborating up with galleries, foundations, biennales or public spaces to showcase them. Past projects include the On and On exhibition on ephemeral art at La Casa Encendida in Madrid in 2010, the Moscow Biennale in 2009 and the Socle du Monde Biennale at the Herning Museum of Contemporary Art (HEART) in Herning, Denmark in 2017.
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Art Genève 2023
Palexpo, booth D55 25 - 29 Jan 2023 OLIVIER VARENNE is proud to present works by Christo , and by Richard Mosse at Artgenève 2023 which focus on their respective projects about the environment: trees for Christo ; environmental crises for Mosse . It will be the first exhibition solely of Christo’s Wrapped Trees , and the first... Read more -
James Capper, Prototypes of Speculative Engineering
MONA, Hobart (Curated by Jarrod Rowlins and Emma Pike. Commissioner Olivier Varenne) 17 Dec 2021 - 9 May 2022 Prototypes of Speculative Engineering , combines Capper’s interests in mechanical engineering, industrial design and evolutionary biology. Created with industrially coated steel and hydraulic systems, Capper’s sculptures— HYDRA STEP and HYDRA SHUFFLE II —evoke the evolutionary shift when life moved from water to land. These insect-and-digging-machine hybrids explore crossovers between biological... Read more -
Tony Oursler, 6TH | DARK PATH
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Curator Jarrod Rawlins, Commissioner of Tony Oursler - Olivier Varenne) 14 Jun - 23 Jul 2019 A site specific sound and light intervention in the Beaumaris Zoo by Tony Oursler. Read more -
Fabien Giraud and Raphaël Siboni, THE UNMANNED: PART TWO (THE EVERTED CAPITAL AND THE FORM OF NOT)
MONA, Hobart (Curator Nicole Durling and Olivier Varenne) 4 Nov 2018 - 4 Feb 2019 Read more -
Toby Ziegler, Your shadow rising
Mona, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne with Pippa Mott) 4 Nov 2018 - 25 Mar 2019 'I have had a particular interest for Toby Ziegler’s work since 2004, when he was creating technologically generated worlds with urban scenes and landscapes. Toby is constantly pursuing his quest with paintings and I especially enjoy his back and forth with technology and how he interweaves computers and crafts. ... Read more -
ZERO
MONA, Hobart (curated by Mattijs Viser and Olivier Varenne) 9 Jun 2018 - 22 Apr 2019 'Zero is silence. Zero is the beginning. Zero is round. Zero spins. Zero is the moon.' - Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker, Zero's founding trio. Read more -
A Journey to Freedom
Dark Mofo Festival, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (guest curator Barbara Polla, co-curated by Olivier Varenne) 8 Jun - 29 Jul 2018 JANET BIGGS
NICOLAS DAUBANES
MOUNIR FATMI
SHAUN GLADWELL
JOANA HADJITHOMAS AND KHALIL JOREIGE
ALI KAZMA
RACHEL LABASTIE
RICKY MAYNARD
ROBERT MONTGOMERY
JEAN-MICHEL PANCIN
JHAFIS QUINTERO
SAM WALLMAN Read more -
LINDSAY SEERS, SUFFERING
Mona, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 10 Jun 2017 - 30 Apr 2018 A new immersive video installation of Lindsay Seers. Read more -
DARK MOFO - Hermann Nitsch, 150. Action
MONA, Hobart (Curated by Olivier Varenne, Michel Blancsubè and Jarrod Rawlins) 8 - 21 Jun 2017 Read more -
The Museum of Everything
Mona, Hobart (invited by Olivier Varenne, curated by James Brett) 1 Jun 2017 - 2 Apr 2018 Read more -
VII Biennale Herning, Socle du monde, To Challenge The Earth, The Moon & The Stars.
Herning (Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Mattijs Visser, Maria Finders, Jean-Hubert Martin and Holger Reenberg) 22 Apr - 27 Aug 2017 Read more -
On the Origin of Art
Mona, Hobart (curated by Brian Boyd, Mark Changizi, Geoffrey Miller and Steven Pinker), (co-curated by David Walsh and Mona team) 5 Nov 2016 - 17 Apr 2017 Read more -
United Visual Artist (UVA), Our Time
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Curator Oliver Varenne) 10 Jun - 21 Jul 2016 Read more -
Grupo EmpreZa, BodyStorm
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 10 - 21 Jun 2016 Read more -
Ryoji Ikeda, Supersymetry
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 10 - 21 Jun 2016 Read more -
Cameron Robbins, Field Lines
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 18 May - 29 Aug 2016 First Retrospective Exhibition. Read more -
Gilbert & George, An Art Exhibition
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 28 Nov 2015 - 28 Mar 2016 First Retrospective Exhibition in Australia. Read more -
Mathieu Briand, Et In Libertalia Ego
MONA, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne, co-producer Olivier Varenne with Maison Rouge Paris) 2 Sep 2015 - 11 Jul 2016 Read more -
Marina Abramović, Private Archeology
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 13 Jun - 5 Oct 2015 First major exhibition of Marina Abramović in Australia. Read more -
Anthony McCall, Night Ship
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 12 - 22 Jun 2015 Read more -
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, Rêvolutions
French Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale/MONA (Exceptional Sponsor, Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 6 May - 11 Nov 2015 The Project 'Rêvolutions' proposed by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot and Emma Lavigne was chosen to represent France at the Biennale of Venice in 2015. Read more -
Biennale de l´Image en Mouvement (BIM)
MONA, Hobart / Centre d´Art Contemporain, Geneva (Co-Curator/Sponsor Olivier Varenne) 17 Jan - 6 Jul 2015 Biennale of emerging video artists. Read more -
Collectionair
Co-founder Valerie Konde and Olivier Varenne 1 Jan 2015 - 1 Dec 2018 Internet platform with online exhibitions. Read more -
Matthew Barney, River of Fundament
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Nicole Durling / co-produced with Haus der Kunst Munich - curated by Okwui Enwezor) 22 Nov 2014 - 13 Apr 2015 Major exhibition following Munich's Haus der Kunst. It marks the culmination of almost 6 years of work. Barney will also be incorporating MONA's Egyptian antiquity Collection. Read more -
Ryoji Ikeda - Spectra London
Victoria Tower Gardens (Co-commissioner Olivier Varenne) 4 - 11 Aug 2014 Presented by Artangel for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Produced by MONA and Sharjah Foundation. Read more -
Christoph Büchel, Land of David - Poynduk: The Promised Mall
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Nicole Durling and Jarrod Rawlins) 17 Jun - 6 Oct 2014 Christoph Büchel’s Mona project has given the museum the veneer of a shopping centre. Behind this veneer are layers exploring 'the strange, corrupt world of 20th-century utopias'. Read more -
Vito Acconci
Dark Mofo Festival, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 1 Jun - 1 Oct 2014 Project for a public bridge in Hobart. Read more -
Conrad Shawcross - ADA Project
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 15 - 19 Jan 2014 An industrial robot transformed into a choreographed light sculpture informs a series of musical commissions inspired by Ada Lovelace. Read more -
Roger Ballen, Asylum Series - Photographs, drawings, installation
MONA, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 7 Dec 2013 - 28 Jul 2014 New photographs from the Asylum series. Read more -
Hubert Duprat
MONA, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 7 Dec 2013 - 28 Jul 2014 A retrospective of the work of French artist Hubert Duprat. Read more -
I Look to You and I See Nothing
Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE (Concept: Olivier Varenne; Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Nicole Durling) 15 - 23 Nov 2013 An exhibition about mental sculptures created by the imagination and phenomena. Read more -
Théâtre du Monde
La Maison Rouge, Paris (Assistant curator Olivier Varenne to Jean-Hubert Martin) 18 Oct 2013 - 12 Jan 2014 Théâtre du Monde contains an array of objects reflecting some 4,000 years of human creativity, creating a dialogue between works across different cultures, art styles and times. Read more -
The Red Queen
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 18 Jun 2013 - 8 Sep 2014 An exhibition that continues MONA’s inquiry into the messy machinery of human nature by asking the rather big question: why do humans make art? Read more -
Beam in Thine Own Eye
MAC1, Hobart (Concept: Olivier Varenne; co-curator with Nicole Durling) 14 Jun - 28 Jul 2013 An exhibition about visual perception, and how individuals encounter objects and phenomena in space and subsequently create their own particular reality. Read more -
Yannick Demmerle
MONA Library, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 19 Sep 2012 - 11 Mar 2013 New drawings by French artist Yannick Demmerle. Read more -
Lindsay Seers, Nowhere Less Now
MONA, Hobart (Co-producer Olivier Varenne with Artangel) 8 Sep - 21 Oct 2012 A new immersive video installation. Read more -
Theatre of the World
MONA, Hobart (Assistant Curator Olivier Varenne to Jean - Hubert Martin) 23 Jun 2012 - 8 Apr 2013 Theatre of the World contains an array of objects reflecting some 4,000 years of human creativity, creating a dialogue between works across different cultures, art styles and times. Read more -
Ryoji Ikeda, Concert Datamatics Susan Philipsz, The Two Sisters
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart (Co-Curator Olivier Varenne) 14 Jan - 22 Oct 2012 Read more -
Wim Delvoye
MONA, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 10 Dec 2011 - 9 Apr 2012 A retrospective of work by the Belgian artist. Read more -
Palais de Tokyo
Palais de Tokyo, Paris (Olivier Varenne Membre du Comité d´Orientation) 1 Sep 2011 - 1 Sep 2014 Member of the committee of orientation. Read more -
Chiharu Shiota, In Silence
Detached, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 14 Jan - 3 Apr 2011 New works by the Japanese artist including an installation, drawing and video. Read more -
on&on
Casa Encendida Museum, Madrid (Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Flora Fairbairn) 18 Nov 2010 - 16 Jan 2011 An exhibition about ephemeral art, with works that change daily. Read more -
Ana Prvacki, Ananatural
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 13 - 23 Jan 2010 A catalogue of performances. Read more -
Christian Boltanski, The Heart Archive
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 13 - 23 Jan 2010 Read more -
3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary
Garage CCC (Assistant curator Olivier Varenne to Jean-Hubert Martin) 25 Sep - 25 Oct 2009 An exhibition which includes 80 contemporary international and Russian artists including several new productions. Read more -
Celeste Boursier Mougenot, From Here to Ear
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart, (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 9 - 12 Jan 2009 An installation of 5 electric guitars & amplifiers with real birds creating a live performance. Read more -
Rob Dowling, Stellasphere
2C Andrews Road, London (Curator Olivier Varenne) 22 Jun - 3 Jul 2005 An installation of 13 x 14 x 2 m in Olivier's living room in London, inside which visitors could walk and see three different newly-commissioned videos where Dowling attempted to transform himself into a Frank Stella painting. Read more