Les Éditions des Beaux-Arts de Paris has published Les Caprices de la pensée, in which artist and former president of ADAGP Christian Jaccard reveals more than 50 years of artistic experimentation.
In this book, Christian Jaccard presents long and powerful excerpts from his unpublished diary, which he began in 1968. As Nicolas Bourriaud recalls in his preface: "Since his early days, Christian Jaccard has been engaged in what he describes as intelligible experimentation. Through his exploration of combustion phenomena. Christian Jaccard, the pyronaut, is now bringing his work to the forefront, as a contemporary of climate change and a precursor of the aesthetics of the Anthropocene."
Born in 1939 in Fontenay-sous-Bois, of Swiss origin, Christian Jaccard presented his first solo exhibition in 1960 at the Cabinet des Estampes in Geneva. He subsequently developed an art form which, from Coupes Toile/outil to Anonymes calcinés and from Concept Supranodal to Brûlis, ‘takes a critical look at the complexity of human nature’.
ISBN: 978-2-84056-879-7
Price including VAT: €25
A special debate between Christian Jaccard and Nicolas Bourriaud will be held in the ADAGP auditorium to mark the publication, on 23 September at 6.30 pm.
Find all the information about this event here
OUTSIDE EVENT
Les Caprices de la pensée (The Whims of Thought), a debate between Christian Jaccard and Nicolas Bourriaud at ADAGP
23 September 2025 – 6.30pm to 8.30pm
An exceptional debate between artist Christian Jaccard and art critic Nicolas Bourriaud will be held in the ADAGP auditorium to mark the publication of Les Caprices de la pensée, a unique encounter that explores the artist's reflections and delves into the contemporary issues addressed in his work, through the prism of these unpublished writings, which mark a turning point in our understanding of the art of our time.
The book is part of the ‘Écrits d'artistes’ collection published by Beaux-Arts de Paris, which gives 20th- and 21st-century creators a voice to discuss their practice and their vision of art.
All information about Les Caprices de la pensée can be found here
More Information
Debate on 23 September from 6.30pm to 8.30pm
ADAGP Auditorium – 11 rue Duguay-Trouin, Paris 6
Access by invitation only
Les Caprices de la pensée - couverture
