Pierre Martinon

Clay sculptures

November 10, 2012 - January 4, 2013

Pierre Martinon - "La belle Anthracite au miroir de cuivre", terracotta sculpture, H. 15 x 28 x 22 cm.

Pierre Martinon presents a set of sculptures and engraved plates as a new stage in his artistic approach since his last exhibition at the Ancienne Poste in 2007. While the shapes have become rounder, marking a departure for an artist who used to cultivate flat surfaces and edges, the virtuosity that captured the public's attention at the Ancienne Poste is still there. Here, the sculptures are as if coated in a thin metallic film, to which fire has given a coppery or amber sheen and complexion, sometimes to the point of burning. Ochre-toned sculptures, on the other hand, are streaked with a multitude of tiny lines: this swarming through the hollows and bumps creates a striking effect. This group of works demonstrates the progress made by the artist, whose work was awarded the Taylor Foundation Prize in 2011.

We recognize a great work of art by the feeling of strangeness it can arouse in us. Yet our memory, weighed down with references, is constantly suggesting reminders, as if the most urgent task were to escape the present impression. Art discovery is not without a certain cultivated amnesia.
Pierre Martinon is one of those all-too-rare artists of today who have not given up on creating a style in favor of simply inventing a process. He doesn't particularly want to be recognized, in any sense of the word. And since he belongs to no school, to no movement stamped with a label, he works with a kind of unheard-of self-denial. If the term weren't so overused, we'd be talking about authenticity or purity.
Christian Godin. Philosopher, lecturer in philosophy at Blaise-Pascal University, Clermont-Ferrand