Supporting cast: Paul de Monchaux’s architectural sculptures embrace the body
In Joseph Rykwert’s somewhat controversial 1996 book, The Dancing Column: On Order in Architecture, the architectural historian analyses in depth the various ways the human body has informed architecture since its beginnings. Rykwert’s electrifying examination of the body-column metaphor – used to describe the way ancient architects used the male and female body as studies for Doric and Ionic columns – serves as the inspiration for Paul de Monchaux’s new exhibition at the Megan Piper gallery in London, 'Ten Columns'.
Eight Studies for Male & Female Columns references Rykwert’s text directly in a series of domestic-sized pale lime wood sculptures; the gender of each is ambiguous, revealing more about the unseen body than the forms we recognise. Supported – rather than supporting, as was the use of their architectural ancestors – de Monchaux’s masculine/feminine columns are scaled down and placed on a ledge, contrasting with two larger, heavier iterations, cast in oily bronze, resembling the tops of an ancient column, curling like hair.
It’s not a surprise that de Monchaux – known for his big public commissions, usually memorials – has returned to bodies. In 1955, when he began studying at the Slade, working with the body was de rigueur, and according to the anecdotes, de Monchaux could be found meticulously measuring its geometry. He began to undertake public commissions in 1986, after retiring from his position as the head of sculpture at Camberwell School of Art, referring to his practice as ‘figurative sculpture’. It was only in 2013 – more than 50 years after his time at the Slade – that he presented his works in a gallery exhibition.
Though de Monchaux’s new sculptures (all from 2016) are in part a breathtaking manifestation of this intense study of geometry, there is something far more evocative about their elegant forms. Just as much of the human body is concealed from view – movements that happen under the clothes and the skin – the sensuous surfaces of de Monchaux’s works capture something that can be felt and understood but that is usually invisible.
INFORMATION
'Paul de Monchaux: Ten Columns' is on view until 13 January 2017. For more information, visit the Megan Piper website
ADDRESS
Megan Piper
67 Jermyn Street (Harris Lindsay)
London SW1Y 6NY
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Charlotte Jansen is a journalist and the author of two books on photography, Girl on Girl (2017) and Photography Now (2021). She is commissioning editor at Elephant magazine and has written on contemporary art and culture for The Guardian, the Financial Times, ELLE, the British Journal of Photography, Frieze and Artsy. Jansen is also presenter of Dior Talks podcast series, The Female Gaze.
-
Herbar’s barrier cream repairs skin damage using medicinal mushrooms
Herbar has launched The Barrier Cream, which harnesses the healing power of mushrooms and adaptogens to repair, soothe and protect the skin barrier
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
The new Renault 5 E-Tech’s design secrets and designer dreams revealed
Wallpaper* talks to Renault’s Laurens van den Acker and Gilles Vidal about how they shaped the eagerly awaited Renault 5 E-Tech
By Guy Bird Published
-
Anselm Kiefer's vast mixed media works take over Venice's Palazzo Strozzi
A new exhibition, 'Fallen Angels,' sees Anselm Kiefer present a combination of old and new works that reflect Palazzo Strozzi's unique position within the Florentine Renaissance
By Finn Blythe Published
-
Don’t miss: Thea Djordjadze’s site-specific sculptures in London
Thea Djordjadze’s ‘framing yours making mine’ at Sprüth Magers, London, is an exercise in restraint
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Accordion Fields’ at Lisson Gallery unites painters inspired by London
‘Accordian Fields’ at Lisson Gallery is a group show looking at painting linked to London
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Fetishism, violence and desire: Alexis Hunter in London
‘Alexis Hunter: 10 Seconds’ at London's Richard Saltoun Gallery focuses on the artist’s work from the 1970s, disrupting sexual stereotypes
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Wayne McGregor’s new work merges genetic code, AI and choreography
Company Wayne McGregor has collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a series of works, ‘Autobiography (v95 and v96)’, at Sadler’s Wells (12 – 13 March 2024)
By Rachael Moloney Published
-
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley confronts gaming, VR and rebirth at Studio Voltaire
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley has opened her first institutional solo exhibition, ‘THE REBIRTHING ROOM’, at Studio Voltaire, London
By Hannah Silver Published
-
At Sadie Coles HQ, artists bring a playful sensuality to lamps
Sadie Coles HQ’s ‘Shine On’ exhibition in London features sculptural lighting by Sarah Lucas, Urs Fischer, and more (until 27 April 2024)
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Peter Blake’s sculptures spark joy at Waddington Custot in London
‘Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters’, at London's Waddington Custot, spans six decades of the artist's career
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Step into Yoko Ono’s immersive world at Tate Modern
‘Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind’ spans the artist and activist's work from the 1950s to the present day
By Hannah Silver Published