The monographic session proposed by the PIASA auction house on Wednesday 12 March 2020 will be an opportunity to shed light on the work of the sculptor Hervé Wahlen.
Born in Oran, Algeria, in 1957, Hervé Wahlen began self-taught engraving with a chisel in the early 1980s before experimenting with the hammering technique. In Paris in 1984 the Galerie des Lombards exhibited his work for the first time.
At the beginning of the 1980s, Hervé Wahlen began to work with metal and became interested in engraving. He started to work on copper by hammering it. Then, having found a technique that allowed him to shape this metal, he began to produce a large number of pieces. The choice of this material is a real encounter for the artist. Hervé Wahlen's reflections on the function of his pieces are far from insignificant.
Indeed, not having followed an academic path, he considered it rather risky to create forms that are totally independent of their function. It took him years to get out of this situation.
The structure of his pieces is far from being uniform. There are many secret parts, nesting areas, areas that offer access either inside the room or outside surrounding it. The technique of copperware fits it perfectly.
With the walls that he welds, cuts and resolder at will, he lets chance act during the creation process. Hervé Wahlen's works interact with the space in order to stage the light. The discontinuity of the surface, accentuated by the use of gold leaf, allows the light to enter the interior or spread it outside. "In fact, my work is light," assures in an interview published in the catalogue of the sale of March 12, 2020.
Hervé Wahlen (né en 1957)
Creux - Pièce unique
Cuivre martelé et feuille d'or
Signé 'Wahlen' et daté '2014'
Date de création: 2014
H100×L22×P30 cm
Estimation : 10 000 / 15 000 euros
The work entitled "Hollow" was created in 2014. Estimated at between 10,000 and 15,000 euros, it shows the attention that the sculpture pays to the surface effects and balance of its pieces.
