Xavier Veilhan

XAVIER VEILHAN (France, 1963).
"Air", 2007.
Thermoformed (blue).
Provenance: Gallery Emmanuel Perrotin (Paris).
Measurements: 63 x 48 x 13 cm.
Made in thermoformed material and presented in an intense uniform blue color, the piece shows two simplified and faceted human figures, with a smooth and shiny finish that eliminates individual detail to focus on form and volume. In the context of his career, this work reflects his interest in reinterpreting the human figure through contemporary processes, moving away from realism to explore an almost digital or virtual aesthetic. Since his beginnings, after his training in Paris and Berlin, Veilhan has worked at the intersection between art, design and architecture, and in Air one can appreciate this search for synthesis between the figurative and the abstract.
Xavier Veilhan is a French artist living and working in Paris, whose career is characterized by a constant exploration between tradition and modernity. Trained at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs, and later in Berlin with Georg Baselitz, since his beginnings in the 1980s he has developed his own language that combines classicism with contemporary technologies. Throughout his career, Veilhan has worked in multiple disciplines, sculpture, installation, painting and scenography, creating works that transform space and perception. In the 1990s he began to stand out with experimental projects such as Le Véhicule, a hybrid piece between machine and sculpture. Already in the 2000s, he consolidated his international recognition with large-scale exhibitions, including Veilhan Versailles (2009), where he intervened the historical space with a contemporary approach.
His career reached one of its high points when he represented France at the 2017 Venice Biennale with the Studio Venezia project, an installation that fused art and live music. Recognized for his ability to integrate art, architecture and sound, Veilhan has built a coherent and experimental oeuvre that positions him as a leading figure in international contemporary art.