Henri CHOPIN (1922–2008) was one of the key figures of the Parisian avant-garde during the 50s and 60s, notably in the field of Concrete and Sound poetry. Experimenting in different media and non-conventional artistic processes – such as text, magnetic tape, performance, film and sound – he was also an important editor, curator and promoter of the artistic avant-gardes of music and poetry.

In the 60s, Chopin started to create his dactylopoems (drawings made with a typewriter): concrete works which stemmed from a preoccupation with the deconstructive forces of order-disorder. Through the typed layering of letters, numbers and signs on a sheet of a paper he created dactylopoemes of a dense visual texture. Additionally he produced more than 100 sound poems – some of which became soundtracks in Luc Peire films and published important European and American avant-garde poetry in the journals of which he was editor, Cinquième Saison (1959-1963) and Revue OU (1964-1974).

Chopin moved from Paris to England in 1968 and lived the remainder of his life in Norwich, where he continued to produce dactylopoems, sound poetry and sculpture. He continued to perform until his death.

Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at the Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland (2018); Summerhall, Edinburgh, UK (2012); Fundação Serralves, Porto, Portugal (2011); MUKA, Antwerp, Belgium (2011); Cubitt Gallery, London, UK (2008); Fondazione Morra, Naples, Italy (2005); Norwich Gallery, UK (1998); and Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK (1974), amongst others.