These pieces are created to order, they are made in numbered editions
With these sculptures, I have to consider their future location, the client’s desire and the audience for whom they are intended.
The creative process requires teamwork to end up with the finished piece, ready to patinate. I work principally with the foundry Ilhat near Toulouse and Alfa Arte, at Eibar, in the spanish basque country.
The patina is what brings life and breath to the finished piece. This is my work.
I am very fortunate to be able to create these monumental sculptures for clients in Switzerland, England and France.
LE PROTECTEUR
This sculpture is the sister piece of the “Baladeur” (see text at the bottom of the page). Both pieces were constructed at the same time in wood. The “Baladeur” was cast in bronze in 2000 and the “Protecteur” in 2021.
It is the second of the “Millennium Gates” which were conceived as a celebration of the passage into the 21st century. They symbolize the passage from the past into the future.
The “Protecteur” shelters us under his all encompassing cloak or shield, whilst the “Baladeur” reaches out to the universe.
Today, it is installed in a beautiful park in the Lauragais near Toulouse, in South West France.
TU ES DANS MON COEUR N°2
The second version of this piece, made this year (2021), came about from clients who had also seen “Light Play 3” and photos of the first version of “Tu es dans mon Coeur”. They had already ordered “Le Protecteur”, the sister piece of the “Baladeur”.
The two sculptures are now installed in a very beautiful park in the Lauragais, in South West France.
They wanted a very different patina from the “Protecteur”, reflecting other seasons and other colours already present in their universe.
TU ES DANS MON COEUR
This recent project came about from my clients seeing «Light Play 3» on internet. We were in the middle of the first «Lockdown». During this time they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and decided to offer themselves a special present to mark this occasion, rather than going on a long and far away holiday. They contacted me.
The destination for this sculpture would be on their property in the heart of a wooded clearing called «The Unicorn’s garden».
We decided that a sculpture smaller than «Light Play 3» would be better in this space and that the patina must reflect the colour of the precious ruby, symbolic of this wedding anniversary.
LIGHT PLAY 1 – 2 – 3
The Light Play project begins with a visit from my client. The final destination of the piece to be installed would be in the heart of a residential and commercial complex which was under construction in Zurich.
We decided with the architects to use “Parallel Worlds” as the basis for the sculpture which was to be mobile. For me, it was necessary to bring nature into the sculpture which would be located in the city and far from the sea. The patina reflects the sea, the earth and the sky.
Light Play 2 was then commissioned to be installed in a private park surrounded by magnificent trees, especially bicentennial cedars. The patina draws from the colours of the vegetation that surrounds it.
Light Play 3 is intended to highlight a garden surrounded by a new construction project for flats and a retirement home in Zurich, Switzerland,
ECHELLES DE JACOB – Les 4 saisons
And he dreamed, And behold a ladder set up On the earth, and the top of it Reached to heaven: And behold the angels of god Ascending and descending on it.
The Ladder, Jacob’s Ladder is there for us to climb in our imagination, and down again. They confront us with the wedding of heaven and earth. Each of these dream ladders expresses its own ordered and confident image into a single source of radiance. In wood or bronze, the pop art and seasonal colours combined with the simplicity of the materials belie the extraordinary complexity of the whole.
ARC EN CIEL
Each Jacobs Ladder is made up of 7 elements …which is where the idea to patina it in “Arc-en-Ciel” comes from. I have always been fascinated by this natural phenomenon and I am lucky enough to see rainbows quite often, living in the countryside with big open skies. I am always amazed! This sculpture is installed in the same park as Light Play 2. It seems to me that it integrates well into its wooded and flowery environment. My client gave me carte blanche for the patina.
STANDING ROOM
The source of this piece lies in Romanesque and Cistercian architecture, hence its very simple and pure form.
It is an object of meditation and protection. The title implies a confined space from which we can move upwards. Visibly it has strongly influenced the form of the Millenium Gates. The viewer is asked to make his own interpretation. There seem to be references to birds, to trees, also to both male and female human form. You are invited to walk in.
LE BALADEUR
The Millennium Gates were conceived as a celebration of the passage into the 21st century, They symbolize the passage from the past into the future.
Their source is based in the geometry and light found in Romanesque architecture, using the radius of one circle as the basis of their construction. Each element is an intuitive variation on this principle, which gives them their overall unity. We are lead back to roam in an ancient and archaic world where the Gods were manifest in Infinity, We are invited to pass through into the unknown.
They are intentionally spiritual and reflective pieces, encompassing all religions, The circle being common to all. The names “ Le Baladeur” and “ Le Protecteur » come from the feeling emanating from each piece in its final realisation. The viewer is asked to put his own imagination to work. The “Baladeur” stretches out towards the universe, the “ Protecteur” protects under his all encompassing cloak or shield.
To mark the year 2000, the “Baladeur” was exhibited in the 11th century cloister of the Cathédrale Ste Marie at Saint Bertrand de Comminges .
NETWORK 90
Originally, Network 90 was made at the request of the Director of BBC South and West, John Prescott Thomas. It was to inaugurate the new BBC building in Bristol, England. Network 90 remained there, from 1990 to 2003. However, internal changes necessitated the search for a new home for this monumental piece of 5m x 2m x 30cm.
Thus, in January 2004, it was inaugurated again, this time in the “Salle des Pas Perdus” in the Conseil Départemental de la Haute-Garonne, in Toulouse.
It remained there until February 2022 when for a second time, internal changes lead to search for a third shelter, found in the Médiathèque de la Haute-Garonne in Labège, Toulouse.
Its first life concerned external communication networks, the transmission and reception of information through radio and television.
Its second life reflected the intricacy of the politico-social and governmental networks within the Haute-Garonne, which manage the infrastructures of schools, transport, human solidarity, the natural development of the territory, access to culture for all. .. etc.
Its third and new life can be found in the very exhaustive collection of Art Books in the Médiathèque of the Haute-Garonne, which supplies all the 400 libraries in the region. Network 90 now finds itself in a place of research and contemplation which encourages the observer to an inner reflection.
This monumental sculpture is actually a bas-relief built in multi-layered painted wood. The intertwined arcs reflect the interaction of the different energy waves. The themes involved are light, sound, the undulating nature of the world and the energy of modern communications networks.
Originally, Network 90 was inspired by the discovery of the Tympanums in Le Vézelay, which are considered amongst the greatest masterpieces of Romanesque art in France.
This monumental work belongs to the artist, it is on loan to the Conseil Départemental of the Haute Garonne.
However, it remains available for sale…
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