Jean-François Fourtou
Jean-François Fourtou became known in the 1990s for his unique sculptures of animals–lambs, giraffes, snails, and orangutans, among others–following the inspiration of François Pompom. However, there is a fine distinction: Fourtou is less interested in animals from a naturalist's point of view, than he is to evoking the world of childhood, half-magical, half-remembered, and most of all, his own. From his perspective, the other-than-human animal is a figure simultaneously emotional and hard to place, living in a world where not everything is known, remaining as mysterious as it is physically and absurdly present, and installed in places where it does not belong but which it seems to occupy with great self-assurance. These animals are photographed in incongruous settings–an executive office, a café–and the insistent presence of these witnesses of the universe internalizes the relationship of existence, making it unfamiliar and opening an unexpected door, the self-portrait. Instead of being a depiction of the self, setting forth the image of the self, the self-portrait renders more sharply the symbolic theme of emotional attachments: cherished animals, often more loveable and supportive than humans.
He has had solo exhibitions at MAMO in Marseille, FRAC Langedoc Roussillonl, and La Verrière in Brussels, among many …
Jean-François Fourtou became known in the 1990s for his unique sculptures of animals–lambs, giraffes, snails, and orangutans, among others–following the inspiration of François Pompom. However, there is a fine distinction: Fourtou is less interested in animals from a naturalist's point of view, than he is to evoking the world of childhood, half-magical, half-remembered, and most of all, his own. From his perspective, the other-than-human animal is a figure simultaneously emotional and hard to place, living in a world where not everything is known, remaining as mysterious as it is physically and absurdly present, and installed in places where it does not belong but which it seems to occupy with great self-assurance. These animals are photographed in incongruous settings–an executive office, a café–and the insistent presence of these witnesses of the universe internalizes the relationship of existence, making it unfamiliar and opening an unexpected door, the self-portrait. Instead of being a depiction of the self, setting forth the image of the self, the self-portrait renders more sharply the symbolic theme of emotional attachments: cherished animals, often more loveable and supportive than humans.
He has had solo exhibitions at MAMO in Marseille, FRAC Langedoc Roussillonl, and La Verrière in Brussels, among many others. His work has been presented in group exhibitions at institutions such as at the Musée Fesch of Ajaccio, Musée d'Art Contemporain of Sao Paulo, la Grande Halle de la Villette, and Lille 3000.
Courtesy of Aeroplastics Contemporary
Galerie Mitterrand, Paris, France
Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels, France
