The work of the artists digs deeper into the concept of sculpture as an experimental practice. The juxtaposition of the 3 distinct media: wood carvings, tapestries, and ceramics, develop a coherent trilogy, almost cyclic in nature, circulating brief vignettes regarding the materials and techniques.
For their third exhibition at galerie Loevenbruck, Dewar & Gicquel show a certain maturity which, even if it were to be mistaken as a sign of wisdom, digs deeper into the concept of sculpture as an experimental practice.
The nature of their new reflections is deep, detached, and specific.
With its laconic title, the exhibition promises nothing more than what we will
see, and stands at a slight distance from the hybridity that was once one of
their main concerns.
The juxtaposition of the three distinct media: wood car-
vings, tapestries, and ceramics, develop a coherent trilogy, almost cyclic in
nature, circulating brief vignettes regarding the materials and techniques.
Industrially produced ceramics, initially developed for the mass market, are
violently re-fired in a kiln built for the experiment. Their blotched heaps tells
a reversed narrative of the clay and glaze’s transformation through heat. Facing the entropic principles behind these abstract pieces, a series of rustic
stoneware soup tureens, reminds us of the domestic use of ceramics. What
if the future of this stoneware were to be fired again, dislocated, or even destroyed?
The rather organic features of a contemporary walking shoe (weird model of
contemporary podiatry) are sculpted out of white oak, typical of mass-produced furniture, whereas a phallus, smoothly carved in a fragrant piece of
red wood, sits inside a horse saddle.
Displayed in between tall tapestries, delicate weavings of Scottish tartan and
large gibbons, the works reflect on the domestication of sculpture through
its uses
and techniques and conversely, about how sculpture dissolves through use
and its possible extinction through production.
In 2011, Dewar & Gicquel have been invited to exhibit at the Parc Saint Léger in Pou-
gues les Eaux (Manufacture), the Centre Culturel Suisse in Paris (Echoes), Yokohama Trien-
nale in Japan, and the Witte de With, Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam (Making is
Thinking). In 2010, they showed at the Domaine Pommery in Reims (Nos meilleurs souvenirs,
Expérience Pommery #8), the Palais de Tokyo and the Musée d’art Moderne de la ville de
Paris / ARC (Dynasty), and at Raven Row, London (Unto This Last).
Dewar & Gicquel work is part of the Public Collection in France: National Collection
for Contemporary Art (FNAC), France; Regional Collection for Contemporary Art (FRAC): Aqui-
taine (Bordeaux), Normandie (Caen), Pays de la Loire (Carquefou), Ile-de -France/Le Plateau
(Paris), and in several private collections in France and abroad.
Opening: Thursday September 8, 2011, from 6 pm to 9 pm
Galerie Loevenbruck
6, rue Jacques Callot, Paris
Opening hours: Tues-Sat, 11am-7pm
and by appointment