paradoxical structures_system_mode | sébastien de ganay

In Museum Grids, De Ganay creates three-dimensional objects that stand out from the mere two-dimensionality of the image or the underlying floor plan through their materiality, scale and color. They unfold into independent line drawings within the space. Depending on the position and superposition of the reinforcement bars, the grids protrude from the walls and enable the viewer to have multiple perspectives of the structures. More prominent than significant characteristics of identifiable museums are the actual architectural plans and structures, reminiscent of circuits or control modules: these project an image closer to the cold and sterile digital space than to an analogue, in person experience.

The series of works Folded Flats is in continuity with Sébastien de Ganay's research since the early 90s into folding techniques. Inspired by everyday post-its, he examines the folding possibilities of the square in a variety of shapes and formats. In a serial working method, de Ganay produces abstract wall sculptures with minimalist gestures made of aluminum, which are based on a painterly approach with their pure colors and their play of light and shadow. The geometric forms refer to the reduced formal language of Minimal Art. De Ganay, however, extends their strict understanding of form and material ("What you see is what you see" - Frank Stella), as the Folded Flats do not reveal themselves at first glance, but invite the viewer to mentally participate, to get to the bottom of things further.

Photo: Simon Veres

On the basis of the flat cardboard, it can be transformed into the third dimension and from indeterminacy into the applied. In the style of Readymades and Arte Povera, de Ganay starts out from a simple utility material and combines this with an examination of the surface in the tradition of Minimal Art. The fast-moving cardboard is translated into high-quality aluminum with a granulated lacquer finish.

Works from the Carton series were exhibited in 2013 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and at the St. Moritz Art Masters.

Studio view Sébastien de Ganay | Photo: Simon Veres

In Seascapes, the circular shape is also inspired by de Ganay's travels to Japan, where the circle often appears in Zen gardens and monasteries as a symbol of knowledge. It also recurs in drawings, objects or as architectural elements such as windows, giving a view of the landscape and simultaneously referring to the viewer’s internal and external worlds. De Ganay deliberately places his work between artistic genres, whereby the Seascapes alternate between object, painting and photography, combining the past and the present. The reflective copper sepia hue picks up on the gloomy moods of seascapes in Normandy and Brittany, reminiscent of early photographs.
The viewer’s wandering eye, usually lost in the landscape, is reflected back by the reflective copper surface and brings a fragment of the present into Le Grey's early pictures.


Photo: Gustave Le Gray, La Grande Vague, Sète, 1857

The series of modular OPSD Stools – similar to the Seascapes series – is made up of "Open System Disks” variations and follows the principle of freely arranged circular modules to form a specific shape. Sébastien de Ganay deliberately classifies OPSD STOOL 3 (2018) and OPDS STOOL 4 (2018) between artistic genres and thus creates works of art that defy clear categorization in sculpture, object, table or stool. The boundaries between the genres are abolished, while the possible function is only discernable through its title.
In contrast to the Folded Flats, the main focus is not on opening the shape by folding, but on the multiplication and superimposition of the circle, which is made of wood and a powder-coated steel frame. The number of circles indicate people who can sit on OPSD stools and illustrate the unifying characteristics of the work, which, depending on its placement in the room, enables collective moments.

"I'm trying to create an unexpected presence that is inherently familiar and without any visible traces of production. A presence that arises by chance when a familiar object conveys the feeling of 'déjà-vu' but has no connection to any personal story. A presence that is easily acceptable and self-evident and at the same time convinces with its quiet, enigmatic familiarity."

– Sébastien de Ganay

De Ganay studied political science and film at Columbia University in New York and is co-founder of the art book publishing house onestar press. In addition to numerous exhibition participations, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Landesmuseum Österreich in St. Pölten, Austria, the Institut Français in Vienna showed a comprehensive solo exhibition of the artist in 2014. In 2017, de Ganay realized a highly acclaimed installation for the Kunsthalle Krems in a former Dominican church, which was accompanied by an overview catalog of his work.

 → further informations about the artist

Photo: Simon Veres