Val (sculptor)

Val, born Valérie Goutard, (20 May 1967 – 25 October 2016) was a French sculptor who worked in the medium of bronze. Her works can be seen in public places and galleries worldwide.

Biography

In 2004, Val settled in Asia and discovered the traditional practice of bronze casting as mastered by Thai foundries.^[1] In April of the same year, for the first time, she exhibited in Bangkok where her works have since been on permanent display.

She subsequently exhibited in Hong Kong in 2006, Singapore and France in 2008, and in China and Taiwan in 2009. After several solo-exhibitions in these countries in 2010 and her noted participation at the Shanghai Art Fair 2010 under the Jing'an International Sculpture Project^[2] with the presentation of a monumental sculpture named Urban Life,^[3] Val is now a renowned sculptor.

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, an enlargement of Theatre of joy for a real estate project in Java, Footsteps II for the Singaporean residence Sorrento; Waiting III installed in Taipei New Times Square in 2014 and more recently, Inéquilibre installed within SkySuite, the highest residential tower in Singapore. In parallel, Val continues to exhibit her works in numerous galleries and art shows across Asia and Europe.

Val currently works in her studio in Bangkok, surrounded by a dedicated team who assist her in the creation of her sculptures which have taken monumental proportions over the years.

Together with the public installations of her sculptures and her participation in numerous art shows, Val's work is now permanently on show in Singapore, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong and Bangkok, as well as Australia and France.

She won the Trophée des Français de l'Etranger (Trophy of French Expatriates) in 2015 in the Art de Vivre (Art of living) section.^[4]

Val has died following a scooter accident in Surat Thani province on the evening of 25 October, 2016.

Creations

Val's work cannot be associated with a specific artistic movement. She creates airy architectures within which man finds his place in a precarious balance. Regardless of the scale of her sculptures, Val's creations display an ephemeral lightness although captured in bronze for eternity.^[5] Her characters carve routes that follow the curves and straight lines of imaginary structures with no beginning or end, circles, crossbars, headlands attuned with the liberating elevated desire of their inhabitants. Val's sculptures display the artist's inner reality and thus give birth to personal shapes where emptiness wins over fullness.

Technics

Val works in the medium of bronze. She creates an aggregate of material, coating an iron structure, the skeleton of her creation. Once the latter is elaborated, a mould is made and sent to the foundry. About twenty moulds may be required for the casting of one sculpture, depending on its size and casting complexity. Val welds her figurines to the rest of the sculpture through joining points and thus gives a sense of lightness to her creations.^[6]

Public installations

2015

• SkySuite (Singapore) – Inéquilibre

2014

• Central Embassy (Bangkok) – Ville Fantastique II (temporary installation)
• Sorrento (Singapore) – Footsteps II
• New Time Square (Taipei) – Waiting III

2013

• Chanintr Living (Bangkok) – Bronzes collection

2012

• Sofitel Sukhumvit (Bangkok) – Inle Balance III
• New Time Square (Taipei) – Inle Balance III
• Art & Arch Museum in Taichung (Taiwan) – Bronzes collection

2011

• Sofitel Sukhumvit (Bangkok) – Hide and Seek II
• Sofitel Sukhumvit (Bangkok) – Urban Gathering

2010

• Shanghai Art Fair – Urban Life
• Shanghai Kerry Center – Urban Life
• New Time Square (Hong-Kong) – Finding soulmate II

Permanent exhibitions

• Red Sea Gallery – Singapore
• Red Sea Gallery – Brisbane
• Philippe Staib Gallery – Shanghai
• Philippe Staib Gallery – Taipei
• Wellington Gallery – Hong Kong
• Art & Arch Museum – Taichung, Taiwan
• Christian Liaigre Asia – Bangkok
• Galerie François Giraudeau – France
• Figures & Sala – Art studio & Gallery

References