In Arson's sculpture studio
Discover Arson's workshop, the place where his contemporary sculptures are born.
Located in Drôme Provençale, this creative space is where ideas take shape and where matter — plaster, earth, stone or metal — becomes sculpture.
The creation of a contemporary sculpture,
from inspiration to working with materials
As a contemporary French sculptor, I often arrive at the studio with an urgent idea, an inspiration that mustn't be lost. I jot down a few notes, but when the work actually begins, I never really know what the final result will be. A dialogue then unfolds between the material and me.
Sometimes I doubt, fear going in the wrong direction, and feel unable to master the material. At times, it seems stronger than my will to bend it to my intention, as if it were resisting my desire for transformation.
In my studio, each contemporary sculpture is born in this way, from the initial intuition to the working of the material. Some of these works are presented on the " contemporary sculptures " page.
The silence of a sculpture studio
For me, the workshop is a space of silence, concentration, and matter. The tools, the molds, the stone dust, the clay being modeled, or the sculptures waiting to be created all participate in the same creative process.
Some works require several weeks of work, others are born more instinctively. Light, materials, and time gradually transform each sculpture until it finds its balance.
It is in this space, between intuition and fabrication, that my works take shape.
The origins of Arson's sculptural gaze
Certain very simple moments in training can permanently influence how an artist views form. Even before any work of art, there is sometimes an initial experience that reveals a way of approaching volume and space.
This experience dates back to my years at the School of Fine Arts.
A study of volume in the Fine Arts
The study of a cube that is dissociated and recomposed.
One exercise proposed to the students consisted of starting with a perfect cube, dissociating it, and then finding a way to reconstitute it exactly.
The primary objective was to understand the logic of volume, the relationships between cutting and assembly, and how an elementary geometric object can be transformed without losing its unity. Each student was free to devise their own solution.
Some approached the exercise like a geometric puzzle, simply seeking to fragment the cube before reassembling it.
My research took a different direction. Rather than producing a series of distinct fragments, I sought to obtain a form that could function as a reproducible entity.
The fragment from the cube was intended to reconstitute the original volume, while possessing an autonomous volumetric identity.
The idea
Preliminary sketch –
study of volume at the Beaux-Arts
The sketch allowed us to explore the different possibilities of cutting the cube and to imagine the assembly relationships between the fragments. The main objective was to find a logic that would allow the initial volume to be dissociated while still being able to reassemble perfectly.
The module
Dimensioned 3D model of the module
derived from the dissociated cube –
study of volume at the Fine Arts.
The principle
The cube was originally made of folded cardboard to demonstrate this assembly principle. Later, a single module was preserved and made of PVC. This simple element still stands today as a testament to this research.
Very quickly, an intuition took hold: if this fragment could reconstruct the cube, it could also be repeated, reversed, or combined to produce other structures. The exercise in volumetric geometry thus revealed the possibility of a broader principle: a simple form can contain the potential of a spatial system.
This way of approaching form — not only as an isolated object, but as a generative principle — aligns with certain research developed in 20th-century art and architecture.
In minimalist sculpture, Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt explored the power of modules and repetitive structures. In architecture, thinkers like Buckminster Fuller studied the capacity of a simple module to generate complex assemblies.
Although modest, this study constitutes a starting point for me. It already revealed a particular way of approaching sculpture: not only as a work with materials, but as an organization of volume in space.
Over the years, my professional path has led me far from artistic practice. The necessities of life and responsibilities have long left little room for creation.
When I resumed my work in sculpture, several decades later, this initial reflection on volume and structure remained present, almost intact.
In retrospect, I understand that this study of the cube already contained a way of approaching form: seeking an internal logic, a possible organization of space, within a simple volume. While my current work explores other themes and materials, this attention to the structure of volume remains a constant. In a way, this earlier research continues to inform my vision: that of a sculpture that is not limited to the material itself, but that also organizes the space it occupies.
Today, only one module of this research remains. Yet, this discreet object still retains all the logic of the initial study: that of a cube which, once dissociated, reveals the possibility of a system.
Module preserved from the study carried out at the Beaux-Arts.
This preserved module from the study carried out at the Beaux-Arts testifies to an early research on volume which remains present in my work of sculpture.
Although my current work explores other themes and materials, this attention to the structure of volume remains a constant in my work as a sculptor.
I also develop my thinking on artistic freedom in my essay " Artistic Freedom and Public Funding " , which focuses on the relationship between creation, cultural institutions and public freedom.
What collectors say
Pascale S.
★★★★★
In love with Esculmeaux, small and large 💚, a collection started a few years ago after a discovery in a gallery in Saint Rémy de Provence…