Olivier Sévère (FR)
Look at the Water
September 8th – September 14th 2024
Olivier Sévère France
Olivier Sévère (1978) lives and works in Paris, graduated from Ensba in 2002 “(…) Olivier Sévère sculpts mineral matter to reveal its potential for singularity. On the threshold between the natural and the artificial, his works play on the collision between physical and imaginary processes to shake the stony world out of its supposed inertia. (…) Somewhere between documentary realism and poetic naturalism, the artist draws on all the resources of the ‘natural fantasy’ evoked by Roger Caillois to describe the mysterious writing of stones, whose biomorphic aspect magically contradicts their inanimate nature.” Florian Gaité.
Gradually, stone and water became his main subjects of reflection. In the mode of reconstitution, he gives substance to stones in a collection of crystalline fragments resembling minerals, or questions the vegetal origin of marble and the creation of mountain massifs in a landscape emerging from the floor of Lausanne cathedral. Water is often present in his work as a medium in which other bodies or materials live or evolve, and is also considered to be the primary tool for sculpting stone or landscapes, in analogy with erosion. Video has slowly crept into her practice, extending and prolonging her research by introducing images and a certain form of narrative.
His exhibitions and residencies, initially in France, are now expanding abroad. In 2015 he was in residence at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, in 2016 at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto, and in 2019 at Villa Salammbô in Tunis. His last two solo exhibitions were at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature and the Musée du Moyen-Age in Paris in 2017, followed by ‘Oasis’ in 2023 at the Centre d’Art La Maréchalerie in Versailles. A duo show has also just been held at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace in Le Bourget, following a double residency with artist Charlotte Charbonnel. Since 2014, Olivier Sévère has been teaching a course in plastic expression at the ENSCI, focusing on issues of volume and materiality.
https://www.oliviersevere.com/
The Workshop
From one end of the Domaine to the other, water is present at Boisbuchet. You see it everywhere, but do we know how to look at it?
It shapes the landscape, gently sloping down to the Vienne riverbed. It is the environment in which the plants of the meadows and undergrowth thrive. The passage of water from the Vienne softens the shape of the stones it covers. The pond to the south-west of the estate becomes a perfect mirror when the wind disappears in the evening, a way of observing the artificial symmetry of the landscape.
This workshop is an ideal opportunity to explore the subject of 'water' in depth and with great freedom, through the prism of its presence - sometimes vivid, sometimes subtle, to the point of its absence. Our methods will be sensitive, empirical , intuitive. The question of its different states can be explored from its liquid presence to its 'disappearance' through evaporation. Another aspect of our work will be its place in the landscape. And we'll be looking at its own image as well as the images it produces with its reflections.
The plastic question of its materiality , and its immateriality, will be at the heart of our research. Water can be used as a raw material for sculptures or installations, as a medium for the development of living things, as a tool, as a screen where images appear and disappear, and so on. Our mediums will include photography, video, sculpture, installations, performances and drawing...
Housing
Accommodation & food are included
We can accommodate for special catering
All participants sleep in dormitories
To book a private room or bring additional guests, get in touch: workshops@boisbuchet.org
Education
Our staff are available to help you conceptualize & produce your designs
Tools & materials are provided by Boisbuchet
All workshops are taught in English
The number of participants is limited to 22
Activities
Weekly campfire, exhibition & guided tour of the Domaine
Conferences from designers throughout the week
The famous Wednesday Porky’s party