ARTISTES 2023
Julien ALLEGRE
Julien ALLEGRE
Julien ALLEGRE
Julien ALLEGRE
Reinforced Concrete Sculpture
Julien ALLEGRE, born in 1980 in Arles, lives and works in Provence, France.
An artist and sculptor as well as a musician, he participates in numerous exhibitions and performances in France and across Europe.
Julien ALLEGRE is undoubtedly a material artist, eager to discover what he has not yet encountered. He invites us to experience both the emotional and tangible metamorphoses of the visible.
His sculptures are the result of years of work and reflect the journey of multiple variations he has traversed, addressing profound themes such as the complexity of the soul, its strengths and weaknesses, animality, and the beauty of nature, as well as the concept of timelessness or the inexorable passage of time.
Julien ALLEGRE questions our relationship with the living. He blends genres and raises questions about the connection between nature and humanity.
For more information, visit www.julienallegre.net.
Bernard AUTIN
Sculpture
“The metal blade has replaced my pencil: the line, by becoming a blade, becomes double and takes on thickness. In profile, it becomes a face. From the front, it catches the wind; by catching the wind, it becomes alive. Alive, it becomes volume...”
It is the encounter between the blade and the wind that made me an apprentice sculptor. Over time, the desire to move beyond figuration has become clearer. Movement becomes essential, and form is merely its support. A more refined vocabulary with geometric simplicity emerges, drawing from the telluric forces of a geological writing.
Website: www.bernardautin.com
“After 30 years of teaching Applied Arts, I now aspire to express all my creativity through diverse and varied mediums. Drawing remains a foundational pillar that establishes the starting point for all my explorations, whether graphic, pictorial, or three-dimensional.
Sometimes figurative or abstract, the body and the living, suggested at the center of my universe, are surrounded by materials inspired by the vegetal and organic. It reveals itself like lace... partially, distilling its emotions through color, light, and movement.
Painting, engraving, or ‘sculpture’ of paper, volume emerges, organizes itself; it is the framed support that plays with our eye, illustrating the subtle boundary between strength and fragility.”
Website: www.atelier-lna.fr
Liselotte ANDERSEN
Liselotte ANDERSEN
Liselotte ANDERSEN
Liselotte ANDERSEN
Sculpture
Born in 1968, of French-Danish nationality, I settled in Provence in 2002 after living in North Africa, Denmark, Central Asia and Paris.
I have worked for a long time at UNESCO on the themes, in particular, of cultural diversity, the culture of peace and non-violence and the preservation of heritage, all sources of inspiration in my creations.
I have been exhibiting in France and abroad since 1991. I have followed open workshops at the Beaux Arts d'Aix-en-Provence, refined my techniques alongside artists who opened their studios to me and completed internships. of improvement, notably in bronze foundry.
My current inspiration explores more particularly - in a suggested and refined way - attitudes and interactions: my sculptures decline the exchange, the emotions, the dynamics and the synergy which can result from the meeting, from particular connections and from the group system.
And if I had to emphasize the essential, I would say that creation is a wonderful path towards oneself and towards others...
“Nothing exists as well as something” or “something is born from nothing”.
Everything happens in the cast shadow revealed by my sculptures, it is not the wire itself
which is the subject of my work, but rather the void that it reveals and organizes. Play full and full
empty, precious and worthless, without forgetting the transition from subject to object.
It is a work on space and emptiness, on transparency and structure, on the fragile and the resistant.
This approach is identical for all my work, abstract or figurative. After the substance, the form
of my work focuses on these fusions at each stage, from inspiration to realization,
chosen materials and its relationship to space in a permanent search for balance.
More information on https://www.instagram.com/isabeauchirat/
Isabeau CHIRAT
Sculpture
Dominique COUTELLE
Sculpture
"Graduating from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1969 after studying in Etienne Martin’s workshop, Dominique Coutelle has devoted his life to his passion: sculpture.
In his works, the material penetrates the space, becoming one with it: steel embraces and leaps towards the azure sky. With minimal means to move us, sometimes just two main lines that unite and rise, born from a sudden intuition, an ascending impulse."
Charles Durand.
More information at www.coutelle.net
Karl-Henz DIEGNER
Sculpture
It is this quest for perfection which is the mark of Diegner, his search for the capture of light and space, as much as the suggested and improbable trait of which we do not know if it exists or if it is the fruit of chance. This is where we must find the fascination and magic exerted by his sculptures and the imprint they leave on our imagination.
Writer, Goncourt prize for high school students 2011 Jean Michel Guenassia
Benoît DAVID
Sculpture
Benoît David is a 53-year-old award-winning contemporary sculptor who has been living and working in Coustellet (Vaucluse) since 2003.
After an artistic training in Canada, he returned to France to work with stone before turning to metal, where he handles everything himself, from the model to the bronze casting.
Since 2015, he has specialized in creating monumental steel mobiles animated solely by the force of the air.
François DUMONT
Sculpture
Henri-François Dumont is a self-taught artist.
From 1958, he pursued a career in business while remaining deeply passionate about contemporary art. Over the years, while staying very active in his profession, he began sculpting and was invited to exhibit his early works at the Grand Palais and the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow in 1992. Since then, he has exhibited at various prestigious venues, including Art Elysées, Art Paris, Start, Salon de Mai, Grands et jeunes d’Aujourd’hui, Mac 2000, and numerous galleries. In recent years, he has been invited multiple times to showcase his latest sculptures at exhibitions at the Fondation Villa Datris in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.
Drawing is the starting point for each of his sculptures. After creating drawings in three dimensions, he builds his creations as models measuring 10 to 20 cm, which are then scaled up to achieve the final form and size of the sculpture. To date, he has created nearly 300 pieces in resin, steel, or bronze, including a significant series exploring the theme of reimagined seating and an abstract series focusing on curves and circles. In recent years, he has developed a series of bronzes inspired by ecological themes. Recently, he has returned to drawing, producing works on paper using India ink.
Nicolas ERES
Sculpture
I have been a professional artist for over ten years, working in France and abroad, and I have my own gallery in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Over the past ten years, I have exhibited, among other places:
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At the Villa Medici, Rome
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At the Poppy and Pierre Salinger Foundation, Le Thor
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At the Villa Datris Sculpture Foundation, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
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At the Campredon Museum, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
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Outdoor installations in the cities of Avignon, Vaison-la-Romaine, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Namur (Belgium)
The philosophy of my work is rooted in the poetry of nature, a certain idea of wabi-sabi, and a romantic vision of animal and plant life. My interests lie in material, texture, and contrasts; my concepts include fullness and emptiness, shadow and light, brutality and delicacy. The materialization of volume is one of the most exciting phases of my creative process. At the outset, there is a material that is neither necessarily precious nor rare, and like an alchemist, I transform the raw material. Then, determination and love for my work guide my hands.
My passion for metal, with the special bond we have forged over the years, is expressed with strength and without hesitation. I enjoy selecting metal sheets based on their uniqueness, assembling them harmoniously, watching them transform before my eyes, revealing their beauty. I prefer to place a slightly irregular piece of crumpled gold leaf rather than a perfectly smooth one.
My favorite ingredient is imperfection: seeking out this fabulous element that adds an extra soul to the sculpture, providing that added beauty that makes all the difference—a trace of life. I am both a master of a technique acquired through many years of practice and an intuitive creative.
I am driven by my work, possessing a researcher's soul that pushes me to go ever further in the constant quest for exclusivity and original creation. My aesthetic sensitivity guides my research. I know I can always discover something new tomorrow. I listen to what the universe tells me, and I know how to hear it. On my creative path, there is also a touch of magic, of workshop secrets, and finally, the passion, enthusiasm, and pleasure with which these works are created are felt in the final result.
We must not forget that the primary purpose of my creations is an ornamental work that should evoke positive emotions.
Odile DE FRAYSSINET
Sculpture
Born in Santiago, Chile, she spent her childhood and adolescence in several countries around the world. In Lima (Peru), she studied ethnology and literature, and later completed a Master’s degree in Spanish at the Sorbonne in Paris. It was at the Beaux-Arts de Limoges that she began to develop her work on relief tapestries.
The artist uses her knowledge of weaving techniques to explore various territories: sculptures, wall panels, and jewelry.
For her large sculptures, the "STELES," a weaving of agricultural ropes rising from a metallic structure transforms into a true "skin."
Driven by the theme of transition, the "BARQUES," predominantly metallic sculptures, find their place both indoors and on bodies of water, where they have often been exhibited.
Sybille FRIEDEL
Sculpture and Painting
Born in Paris, Sybille Friedel studied drawing and sculpture at Del Debio. She also began practicing watercolor on vellum at the Paris Natural History Museum, before meeting the master Ung No Lee. Then began a learning of Chinese calligraphy which would continue over the years. Following in-depth studies and long travels, the artist manages to propose his own language, both following and subverting the aesthetic codes of this oriental art. She practices painting, sculpture and drawing in her studio in Pernes Les Fontaines (Vaucluse), where she never ceases to question the relationship between man and nature.
INSTAGRAM: @sybillefriedel
WEBSITE: www.sybillefriedel.net
Teddy FOLLENFANT
Painting
eddy Follenfant: Scientist Turned Humanitarian and Media Producer
With a background in science, Teddy Follenfant was once responsible for communications at Amnesty International. In this role, he collaborated with numerous artists worldwide on major awareness campaigns against torture, the death penalty, and more. He also conducted several humanitarian missions in Lebanon. Passionately committed to environmental protection, he hosted the show "BFM Environnement" from 1993 to 2006.
Currently, Teddy is the producer and host of "Équateur" on Radio RCF Vaucluse. His sources of inspiration include nature, water, the planet, silence... and the cross, which symbolizes the world in its entirety. In the manifested world and cosmos, the two arms of the cross represent spirit and matter. Thus, the cross refers to the origins of the world and the organization of chaos within an oriented space. Follenfant, which translates to "foolish child" in Erasmus's "The Praise of Folly," reflects his alignment with the Christian anarchist movement, particularly in the United States. He was notably friends with Julian Beck and Judith Malina, founders of the Living Theater in New York.
Corado GARDONE
Sculpture
Corado Gardone focuses on the ephemeral and vulnerable aspects of human production, revealing its fragility and temporality.
He explores two fundamentally different yet interconnected research axes. One is concerned with hybridizations; the artist creates assemblages where the goal is not juxtaposition or opposition but fusion, aiming to rediscover a vital unity in today’s world.
The other axis examines the temporality of matter.
In his creations, he uses materials from industry, which he dematerializes by accelerating the natural processes of the elements.
These pieces are the result of this metamorphosis—like a history of dematerialization—they contribute to his unsettling and disturbing, as well as exuberant and joyful, principle of creation… hymns to nature.
Julie GONCE
Flame-working Glass Sculpture
Julie Gonce lives with glass. She practices this craft, rich in history, with deep respect for the traditions and know-how passed down to her. At the heart of all her creations is the pleasure of working with flame and molten glass.
She constructs her sculptures by assembling a multitude of blown or flame-worked glass elements. The artist enjoys playing with accumulation. When combined with wood, earth, metal, or other materials, the glass reveals a hidden dimension and expresses the emotion of her universe.
Glass is at the very core of the work; it vibrates within, it is its soul.
4o mini
Gilles GRIMON
Painting
After a career as an illustrator for magazines, publishing, and advertising, Gilles Grimon has been dedicated to oil painting for the past fifteen years. He now lives in Provence, following periods in Paris, London, and Milan.
Inspired by Op Art pioneers, he creates large portraits that blend optical phenomena, graphic elements, and sensuality. Multiple overlays result in engaging the viewer's gaze and creating a unique vibration. He has exhibited in Paris, New York, and Miami.
Website: gillesgrimon-peintures.com
Francis GUERRiER
Sculpture
Francis Guerrier was born in Marseille in 1964, son of the painter Raymond Guerrier and Francesca Guerrier, ceramist. From his childhood in Eygalières, art was present in his daily life and would influence him throughout his life. At the age of 20 he left Provence for Paris. He trained in scenography and became a designer
decor for theater, dance, music and events.
Since 2000 he has devoted himself to sculpture. In 2013, he decided to return to his roots and built the workshop of his dreams in Eygalières which would allow him to create his monumental sculptures.
I do not model my sculptures, I work from a sheet of metal that I cut
and format. By honoring matter, by respecting its energy, its spring, its
possible curvature, I achieve balance, harmony, I find nature there…
And it is her, in her purity but also her complexity which is my first inspiration.
The curves, the moons, the trajectories and especially the spirals so often present in the
nature, from shells to galaxies are my writing.
I do not seek abstraction, but on the contrary, to get closer to the original forms.
Gunter HERRMANN
Sculpture
Architecture and Urban Planning Studies
Berlin University of the Arts,
University of Stuttgart, AA in London
Degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from the University of Stuttgart
1961 – 68
Teacher at the University of Stuttgart
1968 – 69
University of California, Berkeley
Student at the College of Environmental Design
Research and Teaching Assistant
Diplomas: Master of Architecture
Master of City and Regional Planning
1969 – 74
Provence, France
Sculptural Research,
Assistant to Various Sculptors
1974 – 78
Architect, Urban Planner, Independent Sculptor
Urban Spaces, Gardens, Parks, Fountains, Sculptures
1979 – 2010