L o u - B r i c e L é o n a r d is a sculptor and filmmaker. He was born in Versailles in
France in 1980 and now lives and works in Paris.
He studied cinema and then aesthetic art at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Since
1998 he has directed several short film which have often received festival acclaim.
These include "Remains" in 2005 and "Every day is a small life" in 2014, both of
which were released worldwide and received many awards (70 festivals in 25
countries). In parallel to his work in the audio-visual field, Lou-Brice Léonard also
sculpts fragmented female forms created initially in clay and then in cement and
glass. As a teenager, Lou-Brice spent much of his time visiting the national museums
in Paris to observe and recreate ancient sculptures. This allowed him to develop a
very precise modeling technique. Subsequently, as a student, he came into contact
with the work of contemporary artists such as Giuseppe Penone, which sparked his
desire to research the materials themselves. Clay in particular fascinates him as he
looks for auto formed features such as those found in minerals in their natural state.
Technique
Th e m ode l: t he fi rst tas k i s to f ind a m odel , this i s an es s ential s tep which ca n take s e v er a l
we ek s. T he i n t enti o n is not t o represe nt real women, as thoug h p ainting a po rtra i t , n or t o
p or t r a y a pe r fe c t bo dy w hich w oul d b e implaus ib le and unrealis tic. The ch alleng e th e re f or e
i s to fi n d a m od el w ho rad i at es po werfu l s ens ua lity, g race, and energy. I f thes e qu a li t i e s are
p r es e n t , t he s c ul pt o r can devel op a f e mi nine i deal bas ed on a r ealis tic i nterpretati o n o f a
s t ri ki ng in d iv id ual .
Mo d e l i n g: a n i n iti al s culp tu re i s m a de fr om clay in the tra ditional way, bas ed on p h ot os o f
t h e mo de l (1 6 p ho t os of t he bo dy t hrou gh 3 60 deg rees ) . Th is s tep, the mos t ard uou s , t a k e s
b et w e e n 15 0 h ou rs and 2 00 hou rs.
Mo l d i n g: a pl as ter m old is m ade f ro m the bak ed clay scu lptur e. Dep ending on the p o s e, t h e
mol ds c a n be c o m po sed of 5 t o 40 sectio ns an d can take up to o ne mo nth o f work .
Ca s ti n g : thi s i s t he shor test st age (o ne to two days ), but als o the mos t d elicate. Th e
ch a l le n g e i s t o co nv ey v isu al f ra gi l it y i n a s culpture that is made fr om ver y r ob ust
ma t e r ia ls .
Na m in g: E a c h s culp tu re b ears the nam e o f an a ncient go ddes s I s htar, Hathor, Nut ,
V en us …
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20TH CENTURY MODERN & CONTEMPORARY MASTERS
Artistic Approach
Si n c e 20 0 2 , L ou-B rice Lé onard has b een work ing with cla y to explo it it’ s retractable d ry i n g
p r op e r ty , wh ic h all o ws him to p rod uce na tural tears . The s culptur es ar e then fina ll y
s a n d e d; le a v in g o nl y a bod y th at ap pe ar s to emerge from th e materia l its elf, withou t a t ra c e
o f t h e s c ulp tu r e’ s hand.
In 20 1 3 , he be g an ex per im ent ing w i th cement a nd gla s s , ma terials tha t have alway s
co n v e ye d t o him no ti ons o f har dness a nd o f cold, r eflecting our dehumanized and
i m pe r so n a l soc i et y. Acco rdi ng t o th e ar tis t, our bo dies experience the omnipres en c e o f
co n c r e te a n d g lass , r elent l ess and inert, as a for m of agg res s ion. He feels the need t o
t r a n sf o r m t he se sub stances by gi vi ng them s ens itivity, s ens ua lity and femininity. H e
d is c o ve r e d ho w t o t ra ce t heir m i ner al or ig ins s o that glas s becomes quartz cry s tal a g a i n an d
cem en t c ha n g e s b ack to li m es to ne read y to receive the impr int of living things .. .th i s
p r oc e s s o f r e st or ati on i ntr od uces hu mani ty, g en tlenes s and g race to ma terials tha t w e
ex per i e n c e a s a f o rm o f d ail y vi ol ence. Vio lence that the artis t attributes to male
d o min a t i o n .
Fo r ma n y t e n s o f t ho usa nd s of y ea rs i n pr ehis toric a nd ancient times g ods were fem a le
r at he r tha n m a le . M ale d om i nat io n w i ped out the ancient god des s es . However, th e s e
g od d e ss e s s ti l l li ve o n in ou r co ll ecti ve unc ons cio us nes s , and it is often ar tists who
d il i g e n tl y r e p r e sent , if no t th e godd ess es, at leas t a feminine id eal, a s o vereign fem in i n i ty .
Th e sc ul p to r Lo u-B rice Léo nard d eci ded to g ive them a pres ence us ing the emb lema t i c
ma t e r ia ls o f ou r ti m e. Th is incar nat io n remains s omewhat ethereal, in other wor ds
f ra gm e n t e d, f r a gi l e, inco m pl ete, ep hemer al .. . A nd it is precis ely this ephemer al q ua li t y
t h a t th e a r ti st i s st ri ving t o cap tu re.
NEW YORK
231 Tenth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
p 212.367.0881
f 212.367.0806
PALM BEACH
313 ½ Worth Avenue-Via Bice
Palm Beach, FL 33480
p 561.833.4700
f 561.832.5050
PARIS
117 rue de Turenne
75003 Paris
p +33.1.42.718.772
www.taglialatellagalleries.com
20TH CENTURY MODERN & CONTEMPORARY MASTERS