SAMUEL LATOUR / French, born in 1990
WORKS
THE CREATION PROCESS IN VIDEO - by Julie Abader
"WRITING VOLUME"
Materials are at the heart of Samuel Latour's sculptural practice. They are the starting point that enables him to envisage a form, a trace in volume.
Samuel Latour works in wood, plaster, bronze and steel. Each material provides the opportunity for a particular technical approach: molding, woodturning, bronze chasing, etc. In this close relationship with materials and know-how, the artist explores an abstract vocabulary in his sculptures. His research revolves around the idea of "writing volume", combining gestures, the interplay of lines and geometries, contrasting textures and the traces left by the tool on the material.
For each project, Samuel Latour keeps in mind that sculpture is a sensual object, and that it should be conceived as much for the pleasure of the hands as for that of the eyes. It's a pleasure to touch these forms, to discover their many nooks and crannies, to make your fingers vibrate on their roughness, to feel the softness of polished materials, to explore sculpture, to discover and rediscover it, indefinitely.
PATH
Samuel Latour entered the École Boulle in Paris at the age of 16, where he studied art turning for five years. From the outset of his apprenticeship, he was fascinated by this approach to materials. Indeed, although training on the lathe is geared towards materials such as wood and bronze, this tool really does open up a wide field of related materials and techniques.
Graduating from the métiers d'art program in 2011, his project, "Scénogramme", a project involving the pedestal of masks from the Dan ethnic group (Côte d'Ivoire), was commended by the jury. After graduating, he worked as a bronze chaser at art foundries in Paris. He works with artists such as Wang Keping, Manuela Zervudachi, Jacques Lebescond... He also works in designer Hervé Van Der Straeten's workshop as a bronze assembler, creating furniture and lighting pieces.
In 2013, he and his partner Laura Demichelis decided to travel to South Asia, often referred to as "the workshops of the world". For several months, they discovered, shared and learned from local artisans. These encounters led them to work in art foundries in Hanoi, Vietnam, then in Patan, Nepal.
After this trip, he moved to Berlin and began a collaboration with designer Stefan Leo, where he developed the design and production of furniture and lighting in brass, copper and steel. In 2016, he moved to Toulouse to develop his own workshop and sculpture production.
For five years, he was also head of the wood workshop at the Beaux-Arts de Toulouse (ISDAT).
EXHIBITIONS
2023
- Galerie Thomas Tournemine - La Baule
- Traces" - solo show - Galerie Anne Jacquemin Sablon - Paris
- PAD Paris - Galerie Anne Jacquemin Sablon - Paris
2022
- Révélations, biennale des Métiers d'Art - Grand Palais - Paris
- Dubaï design week - Galerie Anne Jacquemin Sablon - Dubaï
- Installation for "Passage au jardin" - Bozouls (Aveyron)
- Collectible Fair - Galerie Anne Jacquemin Sablon - Brussels
- Galerie Amélie - Paris
- Journée Européennes des Métiers d'Art - Toulouse (France)
2021
- Écrire l'espace" - duo show with Ludovic Philippon - Galerie Amélie - Paris
- Galerie Saint-Jacques (architects Suducca & Merillou) - Toulouse
2020
- Jungle fantasmée" - solo show (drawings and sculptures) - Galerie Octobre - Toulouse
2019
- Galerie Akié Arichi - Paris
- Galerie Peut-être - Villefranche-sur-Saône
- Archimobilier (design gallery) - Paris
- Journée Européennes des Métiers d'Art - Toulouse
2018
- Studio de Laurent Maugoust Architecture - Paris
- Domaine de Montjoie - Ramonville
- Galerie le 6Bis (architect Cécile Derrien) - Toulouse - Salon des Métiers d'Art - Gaillac
