Known for pioneering art brut or “raw art,” as well as favoring the so-called “low art” aesthetic in his work over more traditional standards of beauty, the late French artist Jean Dubuffet has been handed an exhibition at Pace Gallery, to present his monolithic installation titled Le cirque.
The sprawling three-dimensional piece stands 13 feet high and is considered to be one of the final works from the Hourloupe series, which includes massive environmental sculptures conceived from simple doodles with a ballpoint pen, which the artist first spearheaded in 1962 up until 1974.
Dubuffet’s prolific oeuvre is recognized by many established museums and galleries across America and Europe. The founder of the “art brut” movement worked across different forms of creative expression, including painting, sculpture, as well as print.
“Le cirque is a habitable environment that suggests an urban plaza, which Dubuffet first conceived and sculpted in 1970 as a model for future enlargement at the architectural scale.[It] is one of the last remaining works from the late-1960s and early-1970s to be realized at the heroic size. Marking a crucial moment in Dubuffet’s deeply influential oeuvre, it stands as a major achievement in the artist’s sculptural practice and heralds the final chapter in his celebrated Hourloupe cycle,” said Pace in a statement.
Take a look at the installation below which will be on display until October 24 and visit Pace Gallery’s website for more information.