PRINTILLUSTRATED:
Patrick Grainville, Richard Texier by Editions de La Différence, Paris, 1995, black-and-white illustrated, p. 306
Patrick Grainville, Richard Texier by Editions de La Différence, Paris, 1995, black-and-white illustrated, p. 306
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La Vertical du M
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1992 Bronze, wooden stand; unique 48(L) x 62(W) x180(H) cm
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Estimate
500,000 - 750,000 129,000 - 193,000 16,600 - 24,900
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Inquiry
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Catalogue Note:
RICHARD TEXIER
One of the most important surrealist artists of the contemporary era, Texier hails from the vast shores of the French western coastline, and has doctorates in both architecture and plastic art. Talented in both painting and sculpture, he was once acclaimed as the artist who could make fish fly in the sky by Zao Wou-ki, surrealist authority of the East. He believes that art is freedom, the connection between inner consciousness and the outer universe. He has been invited to exhibit his work at Centre Pompidou, the National Museum of Luxembourg, the House of Culture in Moscow, Russia, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Shanghai Art Museum and other internationally renowned art institutions.
Art isn't isolation; instead, it is embracing the world with an open mind, connecting the inner self and bonding with the outside world. Starting with New York in 1979, Texier has worked nomadically all across the world, moving from place to place at whim like an ocean sailor. He immerses himself in unfamiliar environments, and reflects honestly upon his state of mind, letting go of the past to welcome new creative challenges. Nature bestows inspiration upon Texier, guiding him in his creations like stars guiding a navigator at sea. Painting and sculpting go hand in hand, both testaments to his endless creative energy.
In 1992, at a old eyelet factory in the suburbs near Paris (Manufacture des oeillets, now the Théâtre des Quartiers d’Ivry ), he was inspired by 15th century astronomy and navigation history to create a series of bronze sculpture installations. La Vertical du M is inspired by the movable M representing the horizon found on the armillary sphere. Industrial parts with weighted textures are fitted together like a steam wheel, and firmly positioned atop a four-legged stand. Visually, it appears to be substantial on top and light on the bottom, like a boat floating at sea, tethered by invisible gravity in its circulation of the earth.
Texier's sculpture is a rare epitome that encompasses the essences of all art theories. It embodies the return to conveying the true feelings of life while also breaking from the bounds of realism, depicting the inner spirit free from restriction of materials, emphasizing an unseen sense of time, and using everyday materials for artistic creations. A sailor with open sails in the ocean of art, he lives between the sky and the sea, traveling upon his own creative journey.
Texier likes to work in open spaces, and with each turn of the season, draws inspiration from the selflessness and generosity of nature. Vibrant gold, sapphire blue, ivory white, ruby red, these are the four colors with which he depicts the ocean. The patterns of primitive art give him endless creative force. By mutating the forms and shapes of deep sea creatures and prehistoric animals, his work is like time travel, simplifying figurative organic matter into the egg-shaped silhouettes of single-cell organisms.
Created between 1991 and 1993, L’Horizon est Plus Grand resembles an ocean sailor's imagination of an eastern island. Reminiscent of the Age of Discovery, the golden background shines as do rays of the glorious setting sun, while the waves of the sea shimmer and sparkle. The black brushstrokes in the center are like an island on the sea, piercing the image in the form of a dragon’s descent, with horns as straight and sharp as the head of a ship, and claws as sharp as anchors. The human mind is like the streak of red across the sky, confident and assured with the use of astrolabes and compasses while sailing towards the unknown. Layers upon layers, guided by connecting stars, mapping out the land that could possibly exist on the other side of the sea, is mankind's longing to discover a new world.
Texier's work is the concentrated, eternal abstraction of the creation, the quintessence of the human spirit etched within the earth. This flowing energy that speaks to the continuation of life and the return to nature enables Texier's work to transcend languages and cultures, enriching the viewer's heart and soul with the warmth of an ocean current.
One of the most important surrealist artists of the contemporary era, Texier hails from the vast shores of the French western coastline, and has doctorates in both architecture and plastic art. Talented in both painting and sculpture, he was once acclaimed as the artist who could make fish fly in the sky by Zao Wou-ki, surrealist authority of the East. He believes that art is freedom, the connection between inner consciousness and the outer universe. He has been invited to exhibit his work at Centre Pompidou, the National Museum of Luxembourg, the House of Culture in Moscow, Russia, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Shanghai Art Museum and other internationally renowned art institutions.
Art isn't isolation; instead, it is embracing the world with an open mind, connecting the inner self and bonding with the outside world. Starting with New York in 1979, Texier has worked nomadically all across the world, moving from place to place at whim like an ocean sailor. He immerses himself in unfamiliar environments, and reflects honestly upon his state of mind, letting go of the past to welcome new creative challenges. Nature bestows inspiration upon Texier, guiding him in his creations like stars guiding a navigator at sea. Painting and sculpting go hand in hand, both testaments to his endless creative energy.
In 1992, at a old eyelet factory in the suburbs near Paris (Manufacture des oeillets, now the Théâtre des Quartiers d’Ivry ), he was inspired by 15th century astronomy and navigation history to create a series of bronze sculpture installations. La Vertical du M is inspired by the movable M representing the horizon found on the armillary sphere. Industrial parts with weighted textures are fitted together like a steam wheel, and firmly positioned atop a four-legged stand. Visually, it appears to be substantial on top and light on the bottom, like a boat floating at sea, tethered by invisible gravity in its circulation of the earth.
Texier's sculpture is a rare epitome that encompasses the essences of all art theories. It embodies the return to conveying the true feelings of life while also breaking from the bounds of realism, depicting the inner spirit free from restriction of materials, emphasizing an unseen sense of time, and using everyday materials for artistic creations. A sailor with open sails in the ocean of art, he lives between the sky and the sea, traveling upon his own creative journey.
Texier likes to work in open spaces, and with each turn of the season, draws inspiration from the selflessness and generosity of nature. Vibrant gold, sapphire blue, ivory white, ruby red, these are the four colors with which he depicts the ocean. The patterns of primitive art give him endless creative force. By mutating the forms and shapes of deep sea creatures and prehistoric animals, his work is like time travel, simplifying figurative organic matter into the egg-shaped silhouettes of single-cell organisms.
Created between 1991 and 1993, L’Horizon est Plus Grand resembles an ocean sailor's imagination of an eastern island. Reminiscent of the Age of Discovery, the golden background shines as do rays of the glorious setting sun, while the waves of the sea shimmer and sparkle. The black brushstrokes in the center are like an island on the sea, piercing the image in the form of a dragon’s descent, with horns as straight and sharp as the head of a ship, and claws as sharp as anchors. The human mind is like the streak of red across the sky, confident and assured with the use of astrolabes and compasses while sailing towards the unknown. Layers upon layers, guided by connecting stars, mapping out the land that could possibly exist on the other side of the sea, is mankind's longing to discover a new world.
Texier's work is the concentrated, eternal abstraction of the creation, the quintessence of the human spirit etched within the earth. This flowing energy that speaks to the continuation of life and the return to nature enables Texier's work to transcend languages and cultures, enriching the viewer's heart and soul with the warmth of an ocean current.