Poetic? Poétique? Anthologie 1967-2017 is the first book that encapsulates the entire range of poetry—which has rarely been published and was never presented in an exhibition—of French artist Bernar Venet. This collection of 248 poems significantly contributed to the development of conceptual writing in the 1960’s. Today, the prose is indicative of one of the very first steps of a major change in the twentieth century: an influx of writing which lacks creative intent, that happens to be the type of content we consume in the digital era.

Written in French, English or with mathematical signs, the poems of Bernar Venet—lists, texts in prose and diagrams – serve to display information in a poetic fashion. In his literary creations, Bernar Venet brings a visual and musical dimension to the knowledge he portrays on paper. At times, the un-comprehension of the text and the uselessness of the information gives the collection poetic power and a kind of encyclopaedic charm.

The anthology is accompanied by two essays by Mathieu Copeland and Véronique Perriol.