Compression, 1990

Cesar, the common name for Cesar Baldaccini, is a French sculptor active from the 1950's until his death in 1998. He became involved with the Nouveau Realisme movement because he used 'found' objects to compose art. He later joined the Nouveaux Réalistes (New Realists) with artists Arman, Klein, and others; urban life was their motivation. He studied in Marseille and Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. His first one-man exhibition was in Paris in 1954. Examples of his sculptures can be seen in museums around Paris and Marseille. He began his career by welding together pieces of 'found' scrap metal and made his early reputation with soldered and solid-welded sculptures of insects, fish, and animals. He was known for very large sculptures, such as a 40 foot high sculpture of his thumb and a 520 ton sculpture of several cars welded together. His welded metal work is part of his 'compressions' phase. Contrasting his metal work, Cesar moved into his 'expansions' phase by using plastic. In 1965, he started with plastic molds of human imprints and created large, shiny images of various body parts. Later, he poured expanded polyurethane which he allowed to expand and solidify. Sometimes he did this with an audience present, which exhibition was entitled 'Happenings'. He also worked with molten crystal and made several glass sculptures. A famous 'public art' sculpture made by Cesar, located on the Left Bank in Paris and seen by thousands of daily commuters, is entitled Centaur. It is in half human-half horse form and is said to honor Picasso. Another project he created was the Cesar du cinema trophy, which is similar to the American Oscar. It is given every year to the best French movie stars. (Artist website)