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SIGNÉ BARRIÈRE N°11 english version
ENGLISH
VERSION
For our british readers, Signé Barrière offers a selection of
translated texts in english, happy reading!
RICHARD ORLINSKI
SCULPTOR
CHILD'S PLAY
Orlinski is the best-selling
contemporary French artist of
2015, ahead of Robert Combas*.
Though he's always been an artist
at heart, it wasn't until he reached
his forties that he saw his fame
explode. Here, we talk to the man
for whom "beauty can transform
violence".
Dressed in jeans and trainers, he
may be approaching fifty, but looks
ten years younger. He has no age,
and no limits either, especially when
it comes to his art, shaping a world
made up of mythicised creatures, or
everyday objects plucked from their
usual context.
The pace of his success has been
remarkable – attributed to an
"oversight" by an elite circle of
connoisseurs. It wasn't until 2004
that Richard Orlinski exhibited his
work for the first time.
Richard Orlinski likes materials, all
materials. Fine materials such as
bronze; and ordinary materials like
resin, aluminium, petrified wood and
stone. Even chocolate. Case in point:
the fabulous four-metre bear he
created this autumn for a chocolate
industry trade fair. It's fitting that
the artist embraced this favourite
children's treat, because he has a
childish side himself, discussing
his work with gleeful fervour. He
loves to work for and with children,
and does regular charity work for
marginalised communities. He visits
hospitals – most recently in Garches
in the outskirts of Paris – where he
helps patients make art and rebuild
their confidence at difficult times in
their lives.
As a champion of art that's "accessible
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