Known for his design creations that he has exhibited around the world for more than 15 years, Vincent Dubourg presents for the very first time a new facet of his artistic work through his sculptures, burned wood paintings and wall installations, as part of his solo exhibition "Density", from June 11 to August 27, 2022 at Danysz Paris - Marais.
For Dubourg, furniture is only a pretext for exploring the meaning of art. It is not an end in itself but a means of embodying the artistic act in the material. In his hands, the object exceeds its function and becomes aesthetic, poetizing ordinary life. The artist explores the material: he burns, melts, sculpts, digs and hammers. His works are made of bronze, terracotta, aluminum, steel, wood, and much more, playing on contrasts and fundamental oppositions — empty and full, earthly and celestial, masculine and feminine, wild and tame. His furniture becomes sculpture, and then the sculpture frees itself from any function and only exists to give body to the material.
"Density" brings together sculptures made of aluminum, paintings of burned wood, and ceramic pieces that constitute an alphabet of forms that are articulated together to invite us into the artist's universe. Vincent Dubourg's relationship with matter is physical. The artist captures the moment of transformation, and invites us to discover the moment of fusion, when everything metamorphoses and freezes, pushing back the limits of his art as he has been doing for many years.
An explorer and a self-taught artist, Vincent Dubourg is known for his bold design furniture as well as his sculptures. The French artist always claimed that art should be part of everyday life. Art, he decided early on in his career, should be desacralized in order for its presence to be with us, to be felt intimately and make us more mindful of the great scheme of things.
From his studio deep in the countryside, which in itself could pass for a monumental piece of art, the artist creates powerful works imbued with a strong connection with nature. Fascinated by a wide variety of materials and their intrinsic properties, Dubourg has worked alongside many professionals, founders, joiners, craftsmen of many trades, learning how those materials react to heat, how they can be moulded and pushed to their limits. His works are made of bronze, terracotta, aluminium, steel, wood, and more.
Vincent Dubourg was born in Paris in 1977. He studied at École de Design de Nantes. His work has been shown in major institutions such as the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, or the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. A monograph on his work was published by Norma Editions in 2017. He lives in Felletin, France.