Page 140 - "he 2020 Guggenheim issue of World of Art Contemporary Art Magazine

Many of his signature pieces with their soft angular movements Jean-Jacques Porret’s bronzes can be seen in innumerable
are harmoniously mixed with sharply defined textures collections throughout Europe, Japan, and the United States.
captivating thoughtful designs with an immortal richness, He was commissioned to create the bronze sculpture for the
boldness, and unsettling beauty. Porret’s work is infused with American-Swiss Friendship Award. The “Abage Encyclopedia
his personality, unsuppressed by traditional rules; his work is of Bronzes” describes Porret as “an independent thinker,
original and buried within each piece is the poetry of his work. whose bronze sculpture might be described as a naturalistic,
modern blend, in which forms are simplified to their
Creating figures of humanity in the abstract, each form essential rhythms and elements.
courageously melting into the next. Emotions created
from fragments of granite or marble jutting and piercing After acquiring his engineering degree, Porret came to
through the bronzes bring the concepts of nature and man New York, anxious to learn English and build a life on his
together, creating a stunningly modernistic and seductive terms. There, his career was set into motion, which soon
interpretation of the human form. after led him to Chicago. Porret’s thirst for knowledge took
him to museums all over the world, absorbing all he could
When viewing one of his sculptures, the human form seems and sharing philosophies with the most prominent artist of
to leap out at the viewer. Jean-Jacques describes this the time. Surrounded by beautiful antiquities, statues, and
movement as “rhythm in space.” Porret said of his artistic artwork every day, the seed of art was planted early, and
method and vision, “I work without any preconceived idea... he began carving wood when he was just six years old. He
(I) continue instinctively, with one shape leading to the next, specialized in creating magnificent works with the lost wax
until the figure is simply rhythm in space”. technique of casting Bronze.

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