Delay is what is or what happens too late. The state of being delayed relates to time and applies for instance to the movement of a watch, which can be either be slowed down or driven forward. In the words of Duchamp above, ‘delay’ indicates further the suspension of aesthetic pleasure in order to replace and do away with the very idea of picture. With this phrase, manifested in Duchamp’s invention of the readymade – ordinary objects taken out of their original context to be declared works of art by the artist – the artwork is no longer a mere visual reproduction or painting, but brings about potential distortion between the work and reality.

In TOO LATE Thierry Geoffroy unfolds the concept of ‘delay’ in probing the position of the artist today, entrusting the artist the sensibility and ability to predict and prevent accidents by being in advance of coming dysfunctions and emergencies in society. In continuation of Duchamp’s introduction of delay substituting picture, Geoffroy examines the passage or interstice between the world and art – an intermediate stage, where an artwork can come into being in advance, in time, or too late.

Through his underground strategy of creating and exhibiting artworks in real-time, Geoffroy reflects upon the artist’s impact and capability today in expressing about urgent matters such as the consequences of climate change and ongoing global wars. All matters, which seem too late to solve and at the same time too late to postpone solving. The idea is for the artist is to be ahead of time, informing society about the concerns he/she encounters without hesitation or deferment.

According to Geoffroy, the contemporary state of the world can be characterised by the ‘too late’ as it always already lies behind us. The exhibition raises awareness of whether the stage of delay is desirable and even an inevitable condition for artists producing artworks today – whether ‘the TOO LATE’ is a constant or marks the final call to take action.