Antoine Gauffeny / 2025
Sculptor
An American pilot from World War II salutes towards the marshes where, on June 22, 1944, the bomber Spare-Charlie crashed.
The bridge, raw and imposing, and the sculpture, modern and light, stand in contrast yet complement one another, forging a sense of connection. As the bridge links the marshlands to the urbanized right bank, the artwork, through its position and posture, reveals the memory of that historical event.
Overlooking the river at the junction of paths, it asserts itself to all eyes and creates a signal, a striking image that ties the present to the past.
At times tangible and solid, at others light and transparent, the artistic installation transports us into a dreamlike dimension, evoking the theme of disappearance. Both static and ever-changing, hollow and full, the artwork transforms and gradually fades away as the viewer moves around it.
Seen from the front, it has almost completely vanished.
This powerful visual illusion challenges our perception of reality in this human figure.
This impression is heightened by a reversed effect. With his left arm raised, the figure appears as the mirror image of an aviator who has passed ‘to the other side of the mirror.’ In this way, a final thread is drawn — linking the world of the dead to that of the living.
Françoise Petrovitch / 2025
At the top of a rock sits a figure who appears frail, yet proud and firmly grounded. She wears a majestic stag’s head. Raised high, her gaze stretches far into the distance, towards the cathedral. Like a sentinel, she watches, protects, and reassures. At her feet, and in our imagination, we too can let our gaze drift with hers, wander into the sky. A faithful lookout, we know she will be there tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that… posted and masked.
Françoise Pétrovitch’s art shapes an ambiguous world, populated with animals, flowers, and beings, defying conventional boundaries and resisting interpretation. The sculpture Enrochement fits into this vein : it evokes a presence beyond the image, a human figure flirting with the animal, perched as if withdrawn from the world, fragile in appearance yet independent and powerful.
