François Stahly – SELECTED WORKS
1er juillet - 30 aout 2020
From left to right :
Flèche, 1950-1955
Bronze with well-worn green/grey patina, cast at time of creation as single exemplar, modelled from an exemplar sculpted in wood that has differences, bears the FS monogram, no founder’s mark, 211,5 x 45 x 22 cm, height 197 cm without base in pierre d’Occitanie added recently.
Colonne d’eau, 1959-1960
Aluminium with patina from natural corrosion, cast at time of creation, one-off piece, bears the artist’s signature, no founder’s mark, 209 x 33 x 33 cm, height without 202 cm wooden base used at the time of first mounting.
The 5/8 exemplar extends the bronze casting series of four exemplars begun when the sculptor was still alive; it is in production by the Fonderie Susse, with the approval of the Comité François Stahly. It is in fact the extremity of the preceding Chaîne d’eau, turned upwards.
Chaîne d’eau, 1959-1960
Bronze with well-worn green/grey patina, cast at time of creation, has neither signature nor founder’s mark, 400 x 15 x 15 cm.
The first casting of a series in bronze limited to eight copies, approved by the Comité François Stahly, to be numbered 1/8 to 8/8 with 4 artist’s copies, is under production by the Fonderie Susse.
Another posthumous casting in bronze is in existence, with a variant sunk in a bronze trough.
This Chaîne d’eau is one of four exemplars sculpted in wood, all of which are different. It began as a commission from architects Paul Herbé and Jean Le Couteur, for the creation of rainwater downpipes for the cathedral of Algiers.
Only two bronze exemplars were cast, because the commission was cancelled when Algeria became independent. Following which it saw service as downpipe at the sculptor’s studio in Meudon.
Cinq stèles, circa 1970
Pink travertine from Turkey, One-off piece, unsigned, 99 x 115 x 50 cm.
The first casting of a series in bronze limited to eight copies, approved by the Comité François Stahly, to be numbered 1/8 to 8/8 with 4 artist’s copies, is under production by the Fonderie Susse. Bronze patinas and stone bases will be identical to those of the sculpture Deux stèles. Scaled-down version that differs from the monumental sculpture Cinq stèles Rämibühl (1971/74) installed in the park of the Realgymnasium Rämibühl in Zurich.
From left to right :
Deux stèles, 1980
Bronze with medal patina, sole exemplar, both stelae bear the sculptor’s signature and thestamp of the founder Clementi 1/8, 97 x 50 x 50 cm, height 89 cm without base in pierre d’Occitanie added recently. Variation of two stelae from the Cinq stèles set.
Méduse, 1959-1974
Bronze with well-worn green patina, cast during the sculptor’s lifetime, bears his signature and the stamp of the founder TEP 3/8, 104 x 70 x 60 cm.
Bronze casting begun in 1974 after the original Méduse sculpted in wood in 1959, with certain differences. A version was also sculpted in marble.
Abstract bas-relief, 1950s
Aluminium with patina by natural corrosion, cast at the time of creation, one-off piece, bears the FS monogram and the stamp of the artist and art publisher Carrare Editore Erminio Cidonio, 100 x 239 x 10 cm.
Research into animated patterns sculpted in relief gave rise to a great many works in the 1950s and 60s.
Among the best known are the two enormous Vitraux-Reliefs in stone agglomerated with blocks of crystal for the church of Saint-Rémy at Baccarat (1952-56), and the transparent Mur-Relief and bas-reliefs for the Meudon studio.
The pattern of this work figures in several works and brings to mind the wavy traces made on sand when the tide goes out.
Venus Hottentote, (large version), 1941-1974
Bronze with slightly corroded black patina, posthumous casting of a bronze series begun in 1974, bears the sculptor’s signature and the stamp of the founder TEP 4/8, 100 x 55 x 50 cm.
The theme of the primitive Venus with ample forms fascinated Stahly, who did several versions of it at the outset of his career. This piece is an enlargement in bronze done by the sculptor and differs in certain details from the wooden Vénus Hottentote sculpted in 1941/42. It was named by the writer Henri-Pierre Roché, Stahly’s first collector and patron.
Roché was a larger-than-life figure, the author of Jules et Jim and a close friend of Marcel Duchamp.
In the 1910s he introduced the artists of the Parisian avant-garde to the United States, including Brancusi, of whose works he was an impassioned collector.
Naissance (large version), 1958-1974
Bronze with slightly corroded black patina, posthumous casting of a bronze series begun in 1974, bears the sculptor’s signature and the stamp of the founder TEP 3/8. Dimensions: 84 x 100 x 40 cm, height without 64 cm steel base.
