Page 5 - Demo
P. 5

 Jean-Louis Émond’s studio shows a brilliant mess, consisting of clusters here and there of sculp- tures created in all media: bronze, marble, exotic wood –
but especially in stainless steel. On a table are found some stainless steel leaves on a bed of clay. To finish this particu- lar sculpture, the artist will assemble and solder them into a perforated creation. The polished finished piece will take the form of something that is as much part of the botan- ical world as it is a portrayal of the female body. Jean- Louis works his magic and conveys his enjoyment of these hybrids, which are halfway between organic representations and suggestions of a figure.
The joy of imagining life, the joy of imagining art. Vitality of gestures and manipulations associated with “making.” Given this modus operandi, the sculptures combine linear components in fluid and sinuous movements to create a masterful rhythm. Drawing on the flexibility and elasticity of the metals, this technical prowess seems to generate the circulation of energy. Working in space and in three dimen- sions, but with a form of expression that is almost graphic, Jean-Louis thinks his sculptures through “by hand.”
In this exhibition, entitled, An unpredictable path, Jean- Louis Émond lingers over multiple scenes that have one element in common: a form of meditation. Like a sort of visual haiku, he very serenely prompts us to contemplate moments that seem to be suspended in time. The jagged treetops between lake and pathway. Amalgamated foot- prints. A silhouette standing against the horizon. Public benches inviting passersby. A bridge to cross, with its big archway. These works are often created as low reliefs, in which multiple elements are affixed to a sheet of metal. We find ourselves waiting standing before them, although we sense that something is about to happen. Even if the event is merely mundane – like a metro arriving at a station – the settings serve to sharpen our imaginations. The titles of the works respond with irony. For Jean-Louis, these are passages. They constitute his personal way of crystallizing and savouring fleeting moments, as if they are suspended in time. It’s the moments that seem to want to slip away that the sculptor strives to catch in his gleaming nets of steel, so as to stop the passage of time.
Translation by Lisa Waite
3
 GALERIE BLANCHE | 2018




























































































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