DÉTAILS DE L'IMAGE

Galerie Nicolas Bourriaud

Eva Aeppli (Switzerland, Zofingen 1925-2015 Honfleur, France)
Taureau Floréal, 1991
Bronze with shaded brown patina
H 36 x W 23 x D 24.5 cm
Titled 'Taureau Floréal' and numbered 6/8
Cast by Susse Frères Paris, stamped 'Resygram'
This proof, number 6, was commissioned by the artist and cast by the Susse foundry in July 1991

Pursuing her questioning of humanity by linking it to the cosmos, Eva Aeppli found in astrology a spiritual and formal repertoire in which she could work tirelessly for almost two decades. After the Planets (1975-1976), then the Erinyes (1977), goddesses of vengeance from Greek mythology, whom she associated with Pluto, Neptune and Uranus, she tackled the Zodiac (1979-1980), each of the 12 heads expressing the character of the astrological signs; such is the case of Taurus, with its heavy sensory appetites. The result is a striking head sewn in fabric and partly cast in bronze, with refined yet eminently expressive features, the scars drawn by the seams on the surface. It's a confrontation that leaves no viewer untouched.

From a private collection in France, this head is remarkably in keeping with her tormented path as a creator who cannot be assigned to any particular artistic movement, which is what makes it so exceptional.