Matériologique

The show will include a selection of existing pieces and new productions to provide an exciting overview of his sculptural practice. It is the first institutional show of this French artist in Paris and is curated by Zoë Gray, who has followed the artist’s work for the past decade.

In Wilfrid Almendra’ s work, ideas and materials are inseparable. His formal vocabulary is derived from architecture, from the shapes and surfaces with which we surround ourselves. He brings together diverse sources to create playful and ambiguous sculptures, making reference to the practices of the hobbyist or dilettante while also citing the designs of major architects of the Modern era. However, it is not simply a question of mixing cultural registers, of blurring high and low culture. Instead, he is fascinated by the creativity that is shared by the suburban bricoleur and the urban planner, by the conceptual artist and the craftsman.

Wilfrid Almendra adapts his forms from vernacular architecture, mining the aesthetics of suburbia and touching upon the sensitive topic of taste. Works such as his New Babylon and the series Killed in Action (Case Study Houses) explore the way in which Modernist ideals are watered down and stripped of their political edge in mainstream residential architecture. Sculptures such as the Concrete Gardens examine the cultural aspirations inherent in DIY and garden ornaments, walking a fine line between admiration and derision. And the recent series Model Homes (Sonata) condenses references to abstract painting with intentionally naïve stained glass, creating works that blend Arte Povera and Minimalism with a post-Pop sensibility.

PUBLICATION
In parallel to his solo exhibition at the Fondation d’entreprise Ricard, the first monograph of Wilfrid Almendra will be published by Les Presses du Réel. Edited by Zoë Gray and designed by Mathias Schweizer, this publication features illustrations of Wilfrid Almendra’s work, plus images taken from his archives and studio. Zoë Gray’s essay The Constant Gardener provides an overview of his practice since 2003; Etienne Bernard’s essay Forms of Situations explores in depth Almendra’s Reconstruction for a Monument; and Sarah C. Bancroft takes a whimsical drive through the landscape of her childhood, revisited through the materials and references of Almendra’s Killed in Action (Case Study Houses) in her essay Villa America. Language: English/French. ISBN: 978-2-84066-547-2.