Remembering Laurent Danchin (1946–2017)

Image via Raw Vision.

SPACES sorrowfully announces the death of Board member Laurent Danchin, who passed away on January 10, 2017. Laurent served on the Board of SPACES since 2015, and was crucial in helping us expand our international reach to those interested in studying, documenting, and advocating for art environments.

World-renowned for thoughtful and careful writings and curated exhibitions on a variety of art and artists, Laurent was particularly interested in the subject of art brut and art environments. He worked with the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland; the Halle Saint Pierre in Paris; the International Museum of “Arts Modèstes” in Sète, France; and other institutions across Europe to curate a series of exhibitions on the field, annotating them with numerous articles, essays, and introductions. He published several books on art brut and post-contemporary arts, and his works appeared in more than a dozen countries. He was particularly instrumental in the preservation and advocacy for Chomo’s Village d’art préludien environment in France, organizing conservation efforts and thoroughly documenting the various stages of the artist’s expressions. The French editor for Raw Vision, a former journalist and radio/TV announcer, and perceptive interview for a range of creative people, he was also co-author of the website www.mycelium-fr.com.

Laurent was such a bright light in my life, personally, and so thoughtful and warm and funny. Although we usually saw each other only once a year, we corresponded regularly and intellectually jousted with each other to really think through all the ramifications of our analyses of the artists that we loved and studied. The world has truly lost a great thinker and a wonderful soul.

We already miss Laurent’s perception, thoughtfulness, and charm; donations in his name may be made to SPACES by contacting Director Jo Farb Hernández.

- Jo Farb Hernández, SPACES Director