Born in 1963 in Lyon, France, artist Xavier Veilhan creates multifaceted sculptures that are strikingly modern. Though he works across a variety of mediums, his sculptures stand out because of their jagged edges or brightly lacquered paint. Back in 2009, his work was displayed in the Garden and Royal Court of the Palace of Versailles, including a 50 foot long coach and horses in purple. Veilhan purposely chose that complex color in order to conjure up ideas about the monarchy and royal power. It was the first work encountered upon the entrance to the exhibit.
As Veilhan explained, “My project for Versailles mainly addresses the outdoor realm, following an east/west axis across the estate, from the Place d’Armes to Le Ntre’s formal gardens. I will be placing several works or groups of works conceived especially for this exhibition, which will articulate the continuity that joins the site’s history to its contemporary protraction. This is a project that is dynamic, classical, open and universal, aiming to establish a new bond between visitors to the place and the spaces they come into contact with.”
Watch this video to find out more about this exhibition.
In addition to showing in Versailles, Veilhan has displayed his work outdoors as well as in one-man shows and collective exhibitions in Paris, Munich and New York.
“My approach on shows in general is not to produce pieces, but to produce an experience of the show in the viewer’s mind. My starting point is the feeling of the memory that the viewer will have more than the actual object. I was always very interested in the history of “Exposition Universelle,” or any kind of show, even a non-art show. The history of exhibition is very important to me and the show itself is more important than the elements that build it. Visiting an exhibition is like driving through a landscape with visual elements appearing; and what I like is to make a kind of dramatic compilation of those elements; they will reach the viewer’s mind.”
Veilhan even created Sophie, a large yellow sculpture, for the restaurant Le Germain. The sculpture was so large that it starts at the ground floor and comes crashing through to the second.
In addition to his multifaceted sculptures, Veilhan creates visually interesting sculptures made out of a variety of materials.
Head on over to Art Observed to read a great interview with Veilhan.
What do you think about his work?