AUGUST 16, 2023 KATE MOTHES
“Aerial” (2012), 33/2 laminated glass from Glas König, wood, nails, and white paint, 3 x 12 x 4.5 meters, two ons of glass. Installed at Brauweiler Abbey in Pulheim, Germany
Detail of “Aerial”
Debombourg’s most recent work combines black lacquer with broken glass, silicone, and other materials to flood a Quebec gallery.
“I am interested in individual repeated attempts, which sometimes lead to failure,” says Baptiste Debombourg. “The impression of impotence generated by such situations, and by the individuals themselves, simply highlights the fragile and endearing nature of the human being.”
The French artist is known for large-scale installations that repurpose utilitarian objects like cafe chairs, staples, and windshields into elaborate, immersive artworks. Enormous sheets of glass cascade from the windows of an abbey or slosh around inside of a courtyard, often using many tons of the fragile planes to accomplish a sense of undulating motion.
Detail of “(R)evolve”
Debombourg’s most recent work, “Black tide,” combines black lacquer with broken glass, silicone, and other materials to flood a Quebec gallery. A powerful gush buries everything in its wake like a tidal wave, landslide, magma flow, or oil spill. Furniture is half-submerged and strewn throughout the deluge, referencing environmental disasters that humans both cause and experience.[…]
Detail of “Black tide”
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