Resin Sculpture With Inclusions – Two Horses At A Gallop – Pierre Giraudon (circa 1970)

This important sculpture, attributed to Pierre Giraudon (1923-2012), is a fascinating testament to the design and experimentation of the 1970s. The work depicts a dreamlike cavalcade of two horses captured in mid-stride, moving through a landscape of natural grasses. The first subject is fashioned from a meticulous accumulation of gears, pinions, and clock hands in gilded brass. The second is defined in contrast by a mass of metallic fragments in coppery hues. Through its theme of the repurposed object and its mass composition, this piece powerfully evokes the famous works of Arman, while retaining the crystalline transparency and naturalistic poetry characteristic of Pierre Giraudon's work. Light, playing through the thickness of the resin block, magnifies the dialogue between the mechanical rigor of the gears and the organic lightness of the dried grasses. A true artistic snapshot at the crossroads of Nouveau Réalisme and 20th-century Decorative Arts. About the artist: Pierre Giraudon Born in 1923, in the 1940s, while working as a biologist in Canada, he was the first to use his own invention to embed plants, animals, and other organisms in resin for academic purposes. He returned to France in 1949 and began working with this material for his own enjoyment, adding his own artistic touches. As he gained mastery of the material, he gradually transformed it into a source of art. During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, he created sculptures, lamp bases, and objects in colored resin, with or without inclusions. Alongside his personal creations, he worked for César. Nevertheless, Giraudon always refused the label of artist, considering himself first and foremost a biologist. He died in 2012.