Friday, November 14, 2008

Surrealist Jewellery by Christian Astuguevieille in Brussels









Profile

Christian Astuguevieille

Christian Astuguevieille's work revolves around an Imaginary Civilization. He traces and articulates the traditions and rituals of this fantastical realm through his work, providing us insight and the ability to go on a journey into our own imagination. The inhabitants are eternal warriors, hunters and creatures who celebrate the cycle of nature. The motifs in Astuguevieille's work have been cultivated through a long history of travels to far away places, taken from his observation of different cultures and traditions. These observations are translated into jewelry, glass-work, sculpture, paintings, furniture or wordless books, as relics of this imaginary world, a symbolic tribe, and have become his trademark. Astuguevieille's work is the result of years as a research collaborator for museums. In the early 1970s, he was involved in the founding of the Pompidou Center in Paris and remained a strong contributor there after.
His art has been exhibited in various museums around the globe, resulting in many significant commissions.Christian Astuguevieille is an artist as opposed to a designer - his work reflects a philosophical view that perceptions should be challenged. His pieces are not about functionality or utility, they are about interaction. Utilizing tactile materials, he redefines conventional objects so that we look at them in a new way. Astuguevieille has created various objects; from jewels to tables, high-backed chairs and lamps. His creations are playful yet sophisticated at the same time. The list of materials he uses is extensive: shells, synthetic hair, wire meshes, artificial flowers, paper bows, polished cotton-wool, gold thread, organza or resin.