“My sculptures are evocative, they are a catalyst for dialogue, the onset of a fantasy, a moment of intimacy.”
Val, artist Valérie Goutard’s born in 1967, lived her youth and adolescence shuttling between South America, Africa, Europe and France where she was born. Val comes upon sculpture for the first time in 2001. Her fingers and the materials have guided the artist ever since in the accomplishment of her artistic work. Val follows her inner journey, immerses herself in the observation of nature in listening to her intuition.
“The infinite world daunts me. Its tangible presence gives me meaning and is reassuring, its beauty dazzles and surprises me. So many of us savour it, knowingly.”
In 2004, Val settled in Asia and discovered the traditional know-how of bronze alongside the best Thai foundries. She established her workshop in Bangkok, where she worked surrounded by her team, who assisted her in creating her sculptures. Over the years, these
have taken on monumental proportions. In April 2004, she exhibited for the first time in Bangkok where her works have been on permanent display in galleries since 2005. Val’s sculptures travel across Asia, from Hong Kong to Singapore, Shanghai to Taiwan. Her noted participation at the Shanghai Art Fair 2010, together with the unveiling of a monumental sculpture named Urban Life as part of the Jing’An International Sculpture Project, established Val’s reputation amongst renowned sculptors.
‘I get lost in my dreams as a means to escape myself and gravitate towards a state of weightlessness. Reality is not what it seems: there is something beyond reality, an almost sacred and ultimate dimension.’
Val is regularly asked to carry out monumental projects in public and private settings: for example Inle Balance III and Urban Gathering for the Sofitel Hotel in Bangkok, Waiting III installed in Taipei New Times Square in 2014, or more recently, Inéquilibre in 2015, currently on display in the highest residential tower in Singapore. In parallel, Val’s works continues to be exhibited in numerous galleries and art shows across Asia and Europe. In 2015, she was awarded Trophée des Français de l’Etranger (Trophy of French Expatriates) in the Art de Vivre (Art of living) section, rewarding her work and her singular life course abroad. In March – April 2016, the exhibition “Val – Anatomy of a creative path” was transferred from a unique solo exhibition to the museum of the Chinese Academy of Art (CAFA). Two of her sculptures have been acquired In April this year, Val also installed three sculptures made of concrete, bronze and coral in an underwater site on Koh Tao Island in Thailand. This artistic and ecological project, called Ocean Utopia, is a first of its kind, as coral becomes part of the creation.
‘Man, mankind are essential to me. I can only talk and allude to them; I explore humanity, and its millennial quest, on a daily basis, through my plethora of emotions.’
© 2017 Sung Studio
In September 2015, Val was invited by the glass masters of ARS Murano to work with them in their studio on new glass creations. After several journey in Venice, she married glass bronze and light to create a collection of unique pieces titled Tenth eonian initiative.
‘Each man is unique in his quest, as is each flower, each blade of grass, which is what makes the beauty of the world. We are all unique in our own way, trying to follow our own path.’
Val has been commissioned by a private collector a monumental sculptural project of 36 meters (over 118 feet long) that will be installed in Taichung (Taiwan) by early 2017. In October 2016, Val passed away from a tragic road accident in Thailand. A few days before, she had just finished that monumental sculpture project to be installed in Taiwan. November 5th, her exhibition titled ‘Tentheonian initiative’ presenting her unique collection of works marrying Murano glass and bronze was such a grand success that on opening night, the collection sold out.
‘I represent man, immortal who succeeds one another, generation after generation. I am talking about man as a human, male or female, anyone in quest of beauty, of answers. I represent nature, the vibrations it triggers in me, the inseparable essence of men and nature, and through my empty spaces I invite nature to play an active role in the multiple interpretations possible.’
Quotes by Val
Photos by Sung Studio (www.vincentsung.com)
Produced by Le Flux Asia (www.lefluxasia.com)
