Please view on desktop to see the full layout

Sculptures

The monumental in Tobiasse's work

1 2

IIt was at the beginning of the 1980s that Tobiasse set up his second studio in New York. The energy and the outrageousness of this city set him free from the constraints of his formats. His paintings exploded from their frames. His sculptures became monumental. It was a new departure.

Myriam, la Venus de Saint-Paul de Vence

Bronze, 2m60, 2005

Myriam

An emblematic sculpture in Tobiasse’s work, Myriam represents Woman as a mother and a lover, the bearer of all our desires. She is exuberant, because in going beyond reality, Tobiasse has expressed her as a hymn to the glory of femininity.

Myriam or La naissance de Vénus

Clay mock-up, 30 cm, future Vénus of Saint-Paul de Vence,1983

3 4

The Bird of Light

Cardboard mock-up, 15 cm, 1989

The Bird of Light

A figure of flight, it represents all the infinite and spiritual aspects of hope and freedom. A link between generations. An initial version, made of polychrome in 1989, can be seen on the forecourt of the Chapelle Saint-Sauveur, also known as la Chapelle Tobiasse, in Le Cannet.

The Bird of Light

Steel and paint, 3m, private collection, 2016

5 6

The Acrobat Dancer

This sculpture returns to the themes close to the artist’s heart : Woman, the fairground, the circus and acrobats, which are symbols of freedom, fusion and a zest for life.

The Acrobat Dancer

Cut-out steel, 3m, painted black and white, 1997

7 8

The Musicians

The explosion of a strong colour imbibed with Mexico and the Mayas. The expression is free, the faces rise out opposite the spectator. The Musicians are the result of a deconstruction between abstract and figurative art.

The Musicians

Monumental totem sculpture made up of polychrome cut-out steel, strata h 2.60 x l 1.47 x w 1.20 m, 1989

9 10

L'Enfant fou

Plaster, 140 x 85 cm, 1980

L'Enfant fou

Bronze, black patina, 30 cm, 1980

L'Enfant fou

Fountain, 6 m, back, 1990

L'Enfant fou

Fountain, 6 m, front, 1990

L'Enfant fou

Installed on the forecourt of the Arénas, in the business district of Nice, in 1990, this fountain presents on one side a child’s head. On the other side can be read: “The mad child is the child who sees through the child the looks of the children who are looking at the mad child”.

As often in Tobiasse’s work, words are part of the work and hollow out their own mystery.

11 12

Les Caryatides

Cardboard mock-up, 35 x 35 x 46 cm, 1988

Les Caryatides

Paper mock-up 20 x 20 x 20 cm

Les Caryatides

Steel and paint, 120 x 90 x 90 cm, 1980

Les Caryatides

The theme Woman is added here to the explosions of colours and shapes. With « Les Caryatides », she turns into a sovereign queen with four faces, symbolizing freedom and quiet strength.

13 14

Moïse

Bronze, 160 x 155 cm, 2003

Moïse

This sculpture represents Moses, angry upon discovering the Hebrews idolizing the Golden Calf. This character always fascinated Tobiasse, who saw him as a great, irascible visionary.

15 16

Reine des Peuples

Bronze, 130 cm, 1999

Reine des Peuples

Plaster, 58 cm, 1999

Tête de Reine

Bronze, 30 cm, 1986

Tête de Reine

Plaster, 30 cm, 1986

17 18

Léa, Série des cartes à jouer

Bronze, 27 cm, 1988

Rebecca, Série des cartes à jouer

Bronze, 27 cm, 1988

Rachel, Série des cartes à jouer

Bronze, 27 cm, 1988

Sarah, Série des cartes à jouer

Bronze, 27 cm, 1988

This is a set of four bronze cards, taking another look at the four Biblical mothers: Rachel, Sarah, Leah and Rebecca, a theme dear to the artist.

19 20

Gorgone

Gilt bronze, 35,5 x 23 x 12 cm, 1969

L'oiseau debout

Gilt bronze, 26 x 38 x 14 cm, 1976

Tête de Moïse

Gilt bronze, 26 x 38 x 14 cm, 1976

21 22

Chat allongé

Bronze, 1m60, 2007

Chat couché

Bronze, 1m60, 2007

Chat Moloch

Bronze, 2m30, 2007

23 24
In the 1980s Tobiasse began to take his paintings out of the constraints of the two-dimensional format. This research led him to imagine panels in relief made from levels of wood placed on top of one another. In this way he succeeded in freeing his paintings and drawings from the flat surface, making them independent and three-dimensional.

Huit lumières pour des temps magiques

Pastel on wood panels, 151 x 160 cm, 1988

Sur les rives de Babylone

Pastel on wood panels, 151 x 200 cm, 1988

25 26

27 28
“My studio is my den, my shell.”

Immersion in the world of his studio … A place where passion abided and where the interaction of colour, imagination and music took place in an outrageous fashion occasioning heaps of piles. Thus books, writing, photos, sketches, dolls’ heads and old bits of cardboard climbed up the walls and ran down the stairs. Everything Théo brought into the studio was projected into his works.

CERAMICS

29 30
Théo TOBIASSE