Exhibition César x Hiquily

Both had instinctively rejected the so-called “classical” techniques and forms of sculpture, a sentiment César and Hiquily had felt almost from the moment they entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where they shared seats in the Gimond studio. Moreover, in the harsh post-war period, “noble” materials were too expensive for young artists. Thus, with delight, they preferred to dive into junkyards and industrial wastelands, transforming themselves into true “scrap metal dealers” of art. For both Hiquily, a genius of balances and improbable pairings, and César, a true poet of the dynamic physical processes from compression to expansion, discarded scraps became a major source of inspiration, which they gladly shared.