Contemporary sculptors
From the beginning, sculptors have held a special place within the artistic community. They were long considered brilliant craftsmen, while painters were unambiguously considered artists.
This reflection is particularly relevant to contemporary sculptors . Contemporary sculpture is constantly evolving. It is a very dynamic field, employing numerous techniques. It overflows with an inventive spirit.
Nowadays, contemporary artists use everything at their disposal. Sculptors utilize the latest technologies and want to be relevant to our times.
The contemporary artist
Is an art enthusiast who takes up the practice of visual arts a contemporary artist or even simply an artist in the etymological sense of the word? The answer is no, because, too often, art and decoration are confused.
Creating something beautiful is not enough, even if one produces original pieces. A work must provoke more than a simple aesthetic reaction, suggesting that it would be a welcome addition to a living room.
The concept of a contemporary artist is so widely used that no one can define it precisely. Artist of our time, artist recognized by the art world, trendy artist, innovative artist—these are just some of the definitions used to describe a multitude of figures in the art world.
The word "contemporary" must regain meaning for an artist. It must speak to the people of our time and carry ideas that do not yet exist but will nevertheless be our future.
Works of art are not only created to be contemplated, but also to act upon minds.
Art4you gallery presents sculptors who are overflowing with inventiveness.
Mireille Louviot is a prime example with her mixed-media work combining driftwood and ceramics. Combining the action of water on wood with the fire of ceramic work is daring. The result is truly impressive.
Origin of contemporary sculpture
Modern European sculpture has gradually moved away from the realistic reproduction of sculpture since the Renaissance. This discipline has seen the emergence of a multitude of remarkable sculptors and works.
The Fauvist and Cubist revolutions in painting also had an impact on sculpture. Indeed, modern European art began to change in nature starting with Cubism.
The deconstruction and reorganization of objects by Picasso and Georges Braque influenced the sculptors' spatial inspiration. The artist's inner emotions were thus expressed in a freer form.
The styles
The influence of Cubism on sculpture was significant. Sculpture was no longer limited to the beauty of objects and the rules of symmetrical balance, nor to the representation of narrative literary themes, but focused on its own aesthetic factors such as volume, space, and form.
Rodin's sculptures marked a turning point at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Although Rodin's work did not escape the art of reproduction, like the Impressionist painters of the late 19th century, it raised numerous questions relating to artistic expression.
The other way was to break away from Rodin's framework, abandoning traditional expressions and defining sculpture as a three-dimensional, purely formal work of art.
A 20th-century sculptor and explorer, Constantin Brancusi was Rodin's assistant. He felt that Rodin did not share Rodin's artistic aspirations and left him. He then entered the avant-garde art scene in Paris, associating with the Cubists. Influenced by Picasso, who instilled in him a taste for rustic beauty and primitive art, he broke free from his mentor.
Unlike the Cubists, who destroyed and reconstructed the original visual image, Brancusi's sculptures were designed to preserve the original prototype.
Henry Moore stated: "Since the Gothic period, European sculpture has been covered with moss, weeds, and the accumulation of superficial objects that obscure the form. It was only with the arrival of Brancusi that the excesses were completely removed. This restored our sense of form.".
Brancusi preserves the original qualities of the material he sculpts; his language is simplified and general, but his work reveals an inner emotion. The most characteristic element of his work is the high degree of purity of form, meaning that the form is shaped in such a way as to express the most fundamental characteristics of the object, without regard to other details.
He fundamentally changed the traditional conception of sculpture, which is why Western artists have called Brancusi the "father of modern Western sculpture.".
The birth certificate for a generation of contemporary sculptors
The year 1970 was undoubtedly a turning point for contemporary sculpture, particularly with the impact on the art world of the book " What is modern sculpture"
Goldwater, Robert (1907-1973). Author – Published by The Museum of Modern Art. New York (NY) – 1969
The author, Robert Goldwater, an eminent art historian, has been a professor of fine arts at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University since 1957. Among his many published works are Artists on Art, Modern Art in Your Life, Gauguin, Primitivism in Modern Art, and Space and Dream.
Designed as an introduction to modern sculpture, this book illustrates a representative selection of sculptures produced from the late 19th century to the present day.
It emphasizes the direct appreciation of individual works rather than their historical sequence. This book presents the sculptures in related groups, accompanied by a description of each work. The sculptures are accompanied by texts that explain their formal character and the intentions behind their creation. It is a seminal work that lays the foundation for what would become contemporary sculpture .
The themes are examined in an almost scientific manner. They remain relevant today. The torso, portraiture, cubism, assemblage, relief, and monuments transcend the trends of the 1960s.
This publication also highlights the artistic developments of the time. It presents a response to modern sculptors and a new order to be renewed with new aspirations: environment, science, wars, sexual identity, women's voices, etc.
The upheaval in contemporary sculpture implies a form of disorder, a departure from convention. The variety of solutions becomes a reflection on the meaning of the new sculpture. Materials diversify, offering artists multiple possibilities.
Among the many artists who participated in this paradigm shift were Jean Arp, Constantin Brâncuși, Alexandre Calder, Naum Gabo , Alberto Giacometti, Julio Gonzalez, Henri Matisse, Henry Moore, Claes Oldenburg, Pablo Picasso, George Segal and David Smith .
In the 1920s, Marcel Duchamp and his contemporaries, such as Moholy-Nagy, Schwitters, and Tatlin, began to explore the discipline. After the war, sculptors like Giacometti, Brancusi, and Picasso truly revolutionized modern sculpture. It spread with innovative practices, paving the way for our contemporary sculpture.
From "Installation" to land art, through new technologies such as the mastery of light in light art, to conceptual art, the new foundations of contemporary sculpture are revolutionizing our historical conceptions.
With the use of waste, encompassing all ranges of solid, liquid, gaseous, mineral or organic materials, artistic experiments multiply.
Modern sculptors
They define themselves as artists who experiment with abstraction and use new materials and techniques. Modern sculpture, according to art historians, begins with Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) and ends with Pop Art and Minimalism in the 1960s.
The evolution of sculpture was gradual and lagged behind that of other arts. A strong figurative tradition hindered its development. Furthermore, it was limited in its use of materials.
The artists used marble and bronze almost exclusively.
The new sculptors became more individualistic and daring, distancing themselves from their peers. They became chemists, plastic molders, and began to master numerous innovative techniques. A new era was dawning.
Because their work has become technically very demanding, contemporary sculptors have trained with industrialists in order to properly use a wide variety of tools, technical equipment and to master the technical gestures.
What is a contemporary sculptor?
One of the major recent aesthetic trends has been to take ordinary objects and transform them into something intense and alive.
Jeff Koons is an excellent example. Coming from a modest background, with a seamstress mother and a furniture salesman father, he never forgot his roots when he became a highly renowned artist.
He always uses ordinary objects to transform them into works of art. He expresses a questioning of an excessively consumerist and media-saturated society
Whistleblowers or messengers?
Contemporary sculptors, more so than in other arts, are agitators who seek to denounce our dangerous societal practices.
From Christo, who raises awareness about the problem of packaging with a reflection on the appearance or suggestion of reality, to Banksy, a sculptor who in 2004 produced fake banknotes bearing the image of Lady Diana at a festival in Notting Hill.
According to a widely held belief, art is a vehicle for messages. From this obvious truth has arisen a deviation in which the message within the artwork has become more important than the artwork itself.
Minimal Art
Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was an architect. Weary of the Pop Art movement that was sweeping the USA with artists like Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns, he advocated for simplicity in art, particularly in sculpture. A movement gradually emerged: Minimalist art. This involved a return to the materiality of objects within their environment.
Minimal art is based on a relationship between the artwork and space. Objects react with their environment, according to Donald Judd's "Specific Objects" 1965.
The style of the “stacks” is simplistic with blocks, all the same size and color, fixed to the wall.
Contemporary Chinese sculptors
From 1990 onwards, art in China began to emerge from the shadows. A great deal of vitality appeared, particularly in Beijing's East Village district. Many artists' studios were established.
For most contemporary sculptors, it would be more accurate to say that art is revelatory and liberating. Provocative artists play with conventions and take liberties with political and economic codes. It is not uncommon for them to use corporate symbols to denounce overconsumption, often without the consent of these companies, whose image is then distorted. In this sense, contemporary sculpture acts upon our present and contributes to a broader reflection on our future.
It is, however, disheartening to see this "revolutionary tool for the mind" appropriated by the business world and investors. As a result, the message becomes muddled.
It's a recent approach to understanding the art of Jeff Koons, who remains a pioneer. Many artists follow in his footsteps. He remains a foundational and iconic figure in contemporary art.
The first half of the 20th century was a period of experimentation. The 21st century proves the current vitality of an art form that is becoming essential.
Fame is not synonymous with excellence.
The artists selected by Art4You Gallery are participating in this major movement of contemporary sculpture.
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