Jean-Bernard Métais — À propos — Slash Paris

Jean-Bernard Métais has been creating for public art projects since the early 1980’s. Most of his major works were commissioned by public institutions or developed for international competitions. His work can be found in both natural and urban settings.

His approach integrates many diverse elements. It all begins with the way the location stimulates his imagination. “Making art in the public sphere,” says Métais, “means building a bond with a place and the people who live in it. My sculpting is essentially based upon the experimenting I do with the place I work in. The elements I bring into play are not an attempt to explain the location; they try to create a resonance, a sensorial bond between people and their environment.”

Métais’ public art is both visual and conceptual. It is a specific response to each place, to each given situation. His artistic approach to sculpture begins with a formal construction, based on an interpretation of context, and responds to the location’s physicality, its urban and architectural setting.