Page 154 - TOP 10 CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS - Volume I

Jean-Jacques Porret
Lives and works in Chicago, USA
www.jjporret.com
Jean-Jacques Porret is the conductor of a ballet in
bronze. Like the classical dance technique, Porret’s
surreal sculptures transcend the mere human form they
represent, and instead draw the viewer in with their
delicate expressionism, rhythmic movement, and abstract
sensuality.
To categorize Jean-Jacques’ work as figurative or abstract
is moot. Though figurative in practice, the work is never
about the figure, but the emotions and ideas shared by the
human race, expressed in the tension of his fluid curves
and precarious balance. Though abstract in nature, the
recognizable form and innate humanity residing within
each piece is impossible to ignore. Thus, we are given a
case study in restraint, with the artist utilizing the best
aspects of each genre without clouding his final result,
creating a self-styled harmony Porret simply describes as
“rhythm in space”.
The ability to do this in any material is impressive, in
bronze, sublime. Only in using the intense processes of
the lost-wax technique is Jean-Jacques able to carry out
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his poetic experiments, the outcome a testimonial to one
of nature’s most hard and brittle elements elevated to
flowing, enigmatic forms at the hands of man.
Over time, Porret’s work has only become more dramatic
in its simplicity, confidence undulating from the figure-
shapes, sure of themselves. While his earlier work is more
fleshed out, bringing to mind sculptors such as Matisse
and Moore and their focus on abstract figures positioned
in space and time, it is in Jean-Jacques’ progression that
he achieves a true rhythm, with the motion, and emotion,
at the core.
As Porret’s experimentation with his iconoclastic style
moves forward, the outcomes will undoubtedly continue
to serve as a reflection of our collective and personal
experiences, possibly changing in shape, but never in
sensibility. We can only hope that Jean-Jacques will
continue to provide such a beautiful lens through which
we can view the fragments of our own humanity.
Jason Myers, Curator, Artist and Galleries owner