DVD Venet / Sculptures

Artworks - 07/03/2017 - Article : Barbara Fecchio

Released shortly after the historic Bernar Venet exhibition at the Château de Versailles in 2011, the documentary Venet / Sculptures retraces the French artist’s work and highlights his career’s key moments.

Facing the camera, the artist relates his artistic pathway, favoring a chronological narration: from his first sculpture of tar and coal in Nice in 1963, to the monumental Corten steel sculptures displayed today in public and private spaces throughout Europe, the United States and Asia.

The narration on the evolution of his work is supplemented by numerous archival images: past exhibitions, behind the scenes, photographs of his New York studio, misleading maquettes, experiments with steel… But the underlying theme of the movie remains the exhibition at the Château de Versailles. A total of six works: the most imposing sculpture weighs 60 tons and soars 72 feet high. Its arches frame the equestrian statue of Louis XIV on the Place d’Armes at the entrance of the castle. The five other ones are displayed in the garden of the “Sun King”.

Obviously I wasn’t going to be able to display my work inside the castle. My sculptures would not lend themselves to it. However, they do find their plenitude in the alleys of Le Nôtre’s gardens. I think about sunrises and sunsets, and how their golden light will highlight the red-brown of Corten steel. The curves of my sculpture will contrast with the angular geometry of the gardens while echoing the circular shapes of the Apollo basin and of the Grand Canal. — Bernar Venet

This documentary offers a very comprehensive introduction to the work of this sculptor “of the line”.