If Eins. Un. One…, 1984 is an emblematic work in the MAMCO collection, it is also the last major work by Robert Filliou (France, 1926–1987). Composed of 5,000 blue, red, yellow, black, white, and natural wood dice of varying sizes, each bearing a single dot on every face, the work is randomly distributed across a circular surface nine meters in diameter. Both imposing and playful, this mandala seems at first glance far removed from the small, poetic, and precarious constructions the artist favored—those most readily associated with his name.

This new volume devoted to the MAMCO collection opens with an introductory text by Michel Collet, which highlights the conceptual strength of Robert Filliou’s work. It is followed by an in-depth analysis by Sophie Costes, who carefully examines all of the artist’s works held in the museum’s collection—from Poï-Poï, his first handmade exhibition catalogue produced in 1961, each copy of which is unique, to Eins. Un. One… in all its multiplicity. This close reading demonstrates how consistently Filliou drew on play, action, philosophy, and language to question the very foundations of artistic creation, with humor and generosity.

The publication also recalls that Robert Filliou—who liked to describe himself as a “genius without talent”—associated with major figures of art and thought of his time, from Joseph Beuys to John Cage, from George Brecht to Allan Kaprow, as well as the Dalai Lama, while remaining a deliberately discreet figure, committed to dismantling the hierarchies established by art history.

A publication by MAMCO, available in French or English in bookshops.