Denis LATOUR

Criticism

Among the great innovations brought to contemporary sculpture, the use of new materials is one of the most significant. Artist Denis Latour from Caen, Normandy, is a living example of this novel research. He works driftwood that has come from ship builds, breakwaters or mussel farms and which has been shaped by saltwater over many years. As a result of his artwork’s success, Denis Latour has had many exhibitions over the past few years both in Normandy and in Parisian galleries. Relatively new to the gouge, the sculptor feels irresistibly drawn to the method of direct carving into the “original forms”. In oak, horse chestnut or tropical timber, their bright and ruddy hues fascinate him. Their eroded, mineralised and oxidised appearance elicits a “reading” from him and allows him to reveal, under the rotting, rough and greying exterior, smooth, polished and luminescent surfaces and contrasts of astonishing beauty. Denis Latour explains how from these objects, “which are visible through the physical receptivity that they have the power to awaken”, he is able to bring about the most beautiful transformations, producing surprisingly gentle, flowing figures in ever willowy and sensual forms. Whether carving slender-bodied women or surprising vertical abstractions, what appeals beyond the absolute originality of the artwork is the purity of the lines, the harmonious proportions, and the simplicity and nobility of the picturesque shapes. Imbued with a soul of their own, these communicate sincerity, authenticity and poetry. In unprecedented, unique and bold artwork, Denis Latour presents a new, exalted world vision that is directly inspired by nature. His creations are at once moving, imaginative and fertile.

Francine BUNEL-MALRAS, Historian of Art

Exhibitions

Du 29/04/2022 au 29/05/2022 : REVIERS : EXPOSITION DENIS LATOUR "D'ENCRE ET D'EROSION" AU CHATEAU

Du 03/12/2021 au 09/12/2021 : LUC-SUR-MER : EXPOSITION JEAN OSTOVANY ET DENIS LATOUR A LA GALERIE DU PETIT-ENFER

Du 01/04/2021 au 07/04/2021 : CAEN : EXPOSITION DENIS LATOUR "SCULPTURES" A LA GALERIE PLACE DES ARTS

Du 03/09/2020 au 26/09/2020 : CAEN : EXPOSITION JEAN-PIERRE LE FEVRE ET DENIS LATOUR A LA GALERIE ART-CULTURE-FRANCE

Du 23/11/2019 au 15/12/2019 : CONDE-EN-NORMANDIE : SALON DE PEINTURE ET DE SCULPTURE A L'HOTEL DE VILLE

Du 11/01/2019 au 23/02/2019 : CAEN : EXPOSITION JEAN-PIERRE LE FEVRE ET JULIA LEGOUX A LA GALERIE ART-CULTURE-FRANCE