MONTPELLIER, France—This monumental sculpture by Jean-Michel Othoniel is like a frozen pixelated wave just before it breaks against the cliffside. The Big Wave at Carré Sainte-Anne was part of two simultaneous exhibitions in France dedicated to artist. The exhibition series Géométries Amoureuses features some sixty sculptures, a dozen paintings and over a hundred works on paper, revealing several aspects of the artist’s multifaceted work, DesignBoom writes.
The exhibition begins with a monumental 6-meter-high, 15-meter-long wave comprising more than ten thousand black glass bricks. conceived specifically for site, The Big Wave takes its name from the first photograph taken in Sète in 1987 by Gustave le Gray.
The Big Wave
The Big Wave
detail
detail
In other rooms abstract steel cyclones are suspended from the ceilings, thematically reflecting the potential violence of natural elements. Othoniel’s large-scale sculptures, Artsy writes, explore themes of fragility, transformation and ephemerality below their shiny surfaces.
the subject is abstractly represented by a series of enormous cyclones made from steel, delicately suspended in space, as well as a flower, ‘the wild pansy’ — a gigantic knot of colored-glass pearls paying tribute to the freedom of thought.
Enjoy this video of the exhibition:
Images courtesy of Galerie Perrotin, by: Marc Domage
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glass is an integral part of the family of ceramics materials