CLAUDE DE SORIA (1926-2015) - Lot 82

CLAUDE DE SORIA (1926-2015) Untitled (Boule) Cement H. ca 37 cm; D. ca 40 cm Price on request PROVENANCE Artist's studio. Note: Claude de Soria began making concrete spheres in the 1970s, seeking to master a raw material while leaving something to chance. She poured cement into flexible plastic molds, often half-spheres, then assembled them. As it dried, the concrete took on slightly unexpected shapes, marked by gravity, the tension of the mold or the thickness of the pour. These spheres speak volumes about his relationship with matter: a balance between control and abandon, between perfect form and assumed imperfection. They evoke both the fragility of a gesture and the solidity of a mineral world. For her, concrete is not cold: it retains the traces of time, gesture, air and water. Excerpt from Michelle Porte's 1994 documentary in which Claude de Soria talks about her creative process and her discovery of cement half-spheres. https://youtu.be/bqi955-xG-M?si=NoHsw8xBQ420pbu4 "Jean Degottex, who followed my work very closely, came to the studio one day and, when he saw the print, he said to me: "But it's wonderful, you absolutely must exhibit them together, the plate and the print." I had been very happy, when making my large round plates, to obtain a result without having to intervene voluntarily. And I wondered what shape I could find that would make itself. I went to my local color shop and came across some plastic half-spheres (I don't know what they were for) and thought to myself, "What a marvel, I'm going to be able to make balls again." So, with the idea of making a completely closed ball, I think of filling the inside of these plastic molds with cement, and I soon realize that I have to do it in a very thin layer, because otherwise it will be too heavy [...]". Prix sur demande/Estimate on request Please ask for condition reports before sale: they are not included in the data sheets.