Exhibition view, The Imaginary Sea, Fondation Carmignac, Porquerolles/FR, from May 20th to October 17th, 2021. Curator: Chris Sharp. Photo © Marc Domage Martyr, 2019. Plexiglass, 7 7/8 x 39 3/8 in. Untilted, 2013. Plaster, baked clay pots, pots diameter: from 91 3/8 x 708 5/8 x 5 7/8 in. Volos, 2013-2015. Late neolithic polished flintstone axehead, raw clay, 20 1/8 x 7 7/8 x 2 3/8 in. Tribulum, 2012-2015. Polyurethane foam, flint, 39 3/8 x 27 1/2 x 7 1/8 in. Chagrin, 2009-2012. Polystyrene, wood and shagreen, variable dimensions Chagrin, 2009-2012. Polystyrene, wood and shagreen, variable dimensions Untilted, 2008-2015. 200000 lodestones, 33 1/2 x 110 1/4 x 110 1/4 in. Untilted, 2007-2008. Crushed pyrite crystals, araldite glue, base, height: 17 3/8 in., diameter: 18 7/8 in. Comme un gant, 2003-2005. Hematite pebbles, polyester mastic cement, 5 tubes, 47 1/4 x 80 3/4 x 47 1/4 in. Untilted (The Fire), 2002. Chinese ink on plywood, 122 x 165 3/8 in. Untilted, beast series, 1992-1999. Flint, 11 3/4 x 13 3/4 in. Corail Costa Brava, 1994. Coral, bread, glue, 9 7/8 x 9 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. Coupé-Cloué, 1991-1994. Beech wood and upholstery brass nails, 27 1/2 x 203 x 15 3/4 in. & 15 3/4 x 198 x 15 3/4. Les Agates, 1986-1989. Four color cibachromes, 29 7/8 x 63 in., ed 1/3 Tube de trichoptère, 1980-2015, gold, turquoise, sapphire, 0 1/4 x 0 3/4 in.
Biography
Hubert Duprat was born in 1957 in Nérac in Lot-et-Garonne, he lives and works in the South of France. Sumptuous, demanding and complex, the Duprat oeuvre draws inspiration from chance and the empirical, combining the discovery of objects, remnants and texts in a testing-out of matter, technique and dexterity. The artist is equally happy in the natural world or working with strange minerals (iron pyrites, calcite, ulexite, etc.), species that defy classification (amber, coral, etc.) and everyday industrial materials (polystyrene, concrete, paraffin, modelling clay, etc.) His repurposed processes come largely from the crafts – marquetry, goldsmithery, upholstery – but also from such vernacular domains as string art.*
His work can be found in several public collections among which: Centre Pompidou, Paris/FR; Paris Museum of Modern Art, Paris/FR; MusFondation Cartier, Paris; Fond National d’Art Contemporain, Paris.
A retrospective of his work is presented at the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art until 2021. Solo exhibitions have been dedicated to his work among which: Art : Concept, Paris/FR (2019); MONA, Tasmania/AU (2013); Norwich Museum, Norwich/UK (2011); Centre International d’Art et du Paysage, Vassivière/FR (2008); Musée Picasso, Antibes/FR (1998).
*Read the press release for the exhibition “Hubert Duprat” at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, written by Jessica Castex, 2020
At the gallery
- 40 ans d’âge, 2021
- Hubert Duprat, 2019
- Le cours des choses, 2014
- Hubert Duprat, 2012
- Bagna Cauda, 2010
- Hubert Duprat, 2005