The Art Of Contradiction

Through his crossed-out letters proposing different points of view, Rio de Janeiro-based artist Rero has perfected the longstanding French tradition of contradiction.Y-JEAN MUNDELSALLE discovers more about the artist’s creative journey, the evolution of his work, and the significance of the strikethrough and ellipsis at the end of his typographic artworks.

- Y-Jean Mundelsalle

The universal Verdana typeface in capitals and a bold black line striking through the letters – these two simple elements were all it took for artist Alexis Devevey, better known as Rero, to invent an instantly recognisable, impactful graphic signature.

Creating words that are opposites simultaneously raises awareness of the paradoxes we face in our complex society, making our choices and beliefs more transparent and forcing us to think more deeply. This affirmation through negation is a form of provocation in the French tradition of contradiction: making a statement and then immediately debating it, saying something and then doing the opposite.

“In my work, I say something, I cross it out,” Rero says. “I put down one way of thinking and then the opposite way of thinking, and I try to make a composition with synthesis, but it’s an open conclusion because I always write three dots at the end to start the conversation. Sometimes you can read it negatively, sometimes positively.

“The more I work, the more I can condense in one spirit. In the US, it’s difficult to accept contradiction. Contradiction is something attached to the French spirit. I’m not trying to change the world; I try to show the contradictions, to understand and to live with them because there are many things we can’t change.”

Spelling The World

Borrowing from intellectuals and ordinary individuals, the French philosopher of contemporary times fills his notebooks with words and fragments of ideas collected from public transport, city streets, the news, literature, cinema, music, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists and overheard conversations. All serve as inspirations.