Joël Dasvin, sculptor

As Joel Dasvin likes to say, he “came to stone carving, or perhaps the other way around.” Installed in his workshop in Chaulgnes, Joel Dasvin, stonemason, mostly works in direct size. Limestone, marble, andesite, the artist is first attracted by the mineral, punctually associated with wood or metal. The important thing is the tension that arises from the meeting of different planes and the purity of the lines, hence the tendency to choose the completed finishes: softened, polished. But nothing like the traces of pointerolles to awaken the carrare or the oxidation to magnify the steel. The Sens-dessus-dessous piece illustrates the artist’s ability to work with different types of materials. Combining Bertranges oak, Carrara marble, Volvic andesite and steel, this serenity-inspired work invites meditation and a return to basics. White marble evokes lightness, while dark andesite refers to density and depth, and the oak with its curved lines is an evocation of movement. Steel, meanwhile, supports all the elements mentioned above. (Sens-dessus-dessous, H : 17cm ; L : 34cm, 2016)