A book about Stéphane Guiran's sculptures: words that speak of art
Stéphane Guiran was born in 1968 (already "an event"…). His creative activity, however, is of relatively recent origin. (There again, between running other people's lives and running one's own – one sometimes has to choose.) He was looking for a way of expressing (after suppressing) his artistic sensibilities. "Sculpture gave me a voice", he writes, somewhat enigmatically; but his meaning becomes clearer when, for our benefit, under pressure, he admits: "I've spent time trying to sculpt spirit. Even attention. And words… I have at thing about words. Dressing them up. Pulling them apart. Mixing them into 'staggering' surprises." ...

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The "Stop press" event of the week: Stéphane Guiran's "Traits en Ligne"
From 15 July to 15 November 2004, Stéphane Guiran is exhibiting a sequence of photographs featuring sketches and models of sculptures produced in 2004. This exhibition, which is taking place on the internet, will give a glimpse of the preparatory work that goes into the artist's creative activity, and the research stage that precedes the actual production of a sculpture.
Arriving in an imaginary exhibition space, you follow an (interactive) route through 4 "rooms", each presenting a step in the creative process. You can then go to the "gallery" and, if you wish, order copies of the photographs

For Stéphane Guiran, the first half of 2004 was a productive period, during which he always had a sketchbook to hand – one beside his bed, another in the kitchen – in case an idea should strike him unexpectedly. He let lines, doodles, shadows dance across the pages. Then there would be the first model, prior to the production of the sculpture itself.
After an exhibition in April 2004, he decided to create an original exhibition on his internet site. For an interview with the artist (in French)…

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Stéphane Guiran is a blacksmith-sculptor who improvises in space. His attitude is frank and sincere (like every truly artistic attitude). His thinking is ingenuous, a little mystical – like that of a Mondrian or a Brancusi, for whom matter must be transformed into miracles. His art is of the order of the intimate. His world is made up of words that name things, thus granting them access to secret realities; raw material is then transfigured into abstract forms. The raw material is iron, which Guiran cuts up, thins down and turns into strips. His sculptures are like ribbons flung skyward by gymnasts. They look silky and light. Barely have they touched their oblong bases, flush with the floor, than they are freed up again in their equilibrium and movement. They are worked on in the most minute detail, with a certain touch that could be called "sensual". One notes the chisel marks, the swellings and, in brief, the convulsive intensity of the metal, but also the blonde tresses and the pleasing patina effect. These works are still quite small, but one can foresee them getting larger..

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Take a kilo or so of talent, a large helping of levity, 100 grammes of humour, the same amount of poetry and joie de vivre, and – hey presto! – Stéphane Guiran's rust-patinated sculptures roll up and take flight. In 2001 this young autodidact emerged from the world of commerce, and began working in metal. In 3 years as an artist, he has developed an outstanding mastery of material and inspiration.
At a new exhibition venue, La Galerie in Eygalières, he is presenting a dozen pieces which demonstrate his predilection for iron. He cuts it up to make long ribbons, which he bends and welds into spirals that intertwine, tangle and untangle, then shoot upward. "The type of material I start off with is weighty," he says, "and I try to convey the idea that there's air in it. You can make something light out of something heavy. What interests me is the marriage of matter and mind." One might think of Guiran's works as being cast – like dense, weighty bronzes – and yet they generate an incomprehensible energy. A lightness. In space, they form lively, whirling lines, like calligraphy. The technical illusion of producing hollow pieces "full of air" gives them unexpected fluidity, vivacity and elation. Far removed from the severe gravity of cast-iron sculpture. Between air and iron, an encounter takes place. In lyrical mode, naturally. "Air, I name you – my subtle associate", says iron. And air replies, "Iron, my beloved, you're free to come and be united, to dance with me…" Guiran gives speech to sculptures – soft, light words. He hums his thoughts to us, and with short sentences intones his doubts, wondering "how to infuse peace into an object designed with a pencil, and brought into the world with a hammer". Then there are the photographs – enlarged details of his pieces, in which, even more strongly than in reality, one gets a sense of the material and the patina of the metal. The artist's view of his works is sensual and – carnal. Stéphane Guiran has a real talent, which has blossomed rapidly. It was no surprise that he attracted attention at the 2003 Florence biennial. And he is now planning to spend a year in Barcelona, the "Mecca of Contemporary Art". What he intends to do after that is to continue bringing a smile to the face of iron.