Guillaume Leblon: LE

In his work, Guillaume Leblon examines the question of viewpoint, like that of the distance separating the viewer from the artwork. In September 2004 during his first solo show at Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, Guillaume Leblon put into perspective the notion of image in relationship to sculpture; likewise he questioned the status of sculpture in relationship to the project/model.

The arrangement chosen for his second exhibition at the gallery can be seen as the point of convergence for questions that lie at the heart of Guillaume Leblon’s artistic practice. Thus, the low wall that cuts and redefines the gallery space, which is neither a work nor a real element of architecture, stands in the area in between, an area of particular interest to the artist. Its unfinished aspect does not disturb its two-fold function: to underscore the question of the articulation between the works and reveal the subjective nature of creating points of view. Placed on the floor, Un and Une (monochrome paintings of “undefined color”) were made with painted and wrinkled aluminum foil. These echo Domestic cliff, the monumental sculpture created this year in Utrecht between the cave and the cliff and the Merzbau.

Sans titres, a series of four photographs (lambda prints), were made within the context of Guillaume Leblon’s studio and present views of works and of “objets d’intention”. Sans titres determines another stratification in his artistic practice: thinking without hierarchic pre-determination between project, work, and documentation, as can be observed with the sculpture, Models in a box (2001- 2005), which proposes a state between the model of a sculpture, the study and the work. The photographs involve an intimate relationship on different levels: they were produced in the privacy of the artist’s studio, in the darkness which gives the objects photographed a ghostly, secret aspect; and this aspect requires the viewer to observe the photographs very closely, at an intimate distance.

Crysocale IV extends a series of works -Crysocale I, II and III- where an object is enclosed in a metallic braiding (the cryocale is composed of tin, copper and zinc). With Crysocale IV, a 7-watt light bulb is contained in a helical shape made of a thin piece of bent metal (60 meters in length). Like a mummification in an unalterable material, the envelope is more durable than its contents. The suspended luminaire forms a mobile with an inverted chip wood stand. The gallery’s window displays a multiple, the fruit of collaboration between Guillaume Leblon and Bowling club graphic artists. The multiple presents a disproportionate enlargement of a part of the invitation card showing Le, which is also the title of the exhibition. In the French language, Le is a definite article and the first word of a sentence.

Current exhibit at the CAC in Brétigny-sur-Orge until December 17. Upcoming exhibits: Galerie Fernand Léger/crédac, Ivry-sur-Seine, 2006; Perspective sites, rolling boards, Vienna, 2006.

Pressetext

LE
Guillaume Leblon