Wabé

The eye of the world Wabé Contemporary art sculpture papier mâché colour fun pop

2018

Wabé is a French artist born in Marseille in 1961. Although her father was a dock worker, this did not prevent him from practicing sculpture in his free time. Her mother, on the other hand, was a musician. Immersed in an environment where art was central, Wabé discovered papier-mâché at the age of eleven. Her passion for this technique has not waned since, and she has made it her trademark. After discontinuing her German studies, she went to Paris to study art. Graduating from the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1989, she then dedicated herself full-time to her art. Her colorful and lively papier-mâché sculptures represent both animals and humans in an artistic exploration that follows in the tradition of Niki de Saint Phalle. The artist does not depict reality, but a dreamed world, an imaginary realm inhabited by creatures with bulging eyes. Discovering Wabé’s sculptures is to savor the thrill of Spring rediscovered. His unique sculptures, whether freestanding or wall-mounted, are colorful and vibrant pieces. Impulsive or serene, they embody appetite and the joy of living. Wabé transports us to the heart of an unbridled and joyful imagination, playful and tangy, where the dreamed animal coexists with an awakened, cheerful, and indulgent childhood, thirsty for games and beauty. Yet strangeness is never far away! His silent sculptures seem ready to reveal some mysterious story whispered in the ear… “It is not the material that makes the art, but the gaze. All the gold in the world cannot make laborious work precious. Conversely, a humble material like papier-mâché allows Wabé’s unbridled talent to express itself with a freshness and generosity that leaves one dreaming. Wabé is neither concerned with caution nor with reverence; she moves poetically with an even step through the little-frequented clearings of today’s art, those where dreamy children play, filling them with animals and wonders.” René TURC, Wabé, “Bifaces and Other Wonders,” Edition Grandir, 2014. Wabé’s work has been exhibited in France, Switzerland, USA, China and Hong-Kong.