...

​

Gazeau first started working with the saddles in 2020 after finding one at her friend Raoul’s stables in Yvelines. What struck her was the changed nature of the saddle when being turned around; suddenly, it became a flower, a butterfly, a womb.

​

Transformation is at the core of Gazeau’s artistic practice. In her paintings and sculptures, the artist takes objects of use out of their original position and function, employs them as artistic tool or turns them into puzzling encounters. The imprints of fishing nets become reptile skin and parchment; saddles become sheep, beetles and breasts.

​

Accordingly, the artist does not aim at representing an object. She wants to reduce the distance to reality, render an object perceivable by taking it out of its ordinary position and use, and opening up the manifold natures of what we think we know. This ability to change perspective, embrace the mysterious, and to subtly but deliberately include a – female – sensuality into her work aligns Gazeau with artists such as Meret Oppenheim or Louise Bourgeois. The process is an evolution from Surrealism, the Objet trouvé and the readymade over Minimalism to a 21st century form. A metamorphosis, giving the factual – concrete, object of use – a poetic touch.

​

...

​

words by Christina-Marie Luemen