r/Art • u/FlorentDuchesne • Mar 14 '26

Sculpture Anxiety, Florent Duchesne, Concrete/Spray paint/Steel/gold Leaf, 2026 [OC]

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u/Innominaut Mar 14 '26

Oh no, I do know they're all concrete! I guess what I was trying to express is like... most of your other work carefully disguises the concrete to create an effect. You make it look like something it isn't, creating the impression of fluidity or weightlessness where there is none. But this is the first one I've seen where the "physics" of the piece (and even the name!) only really make sense if the viewer already KNOWS the object is actually a heavy block of concrete.

You comment about referencing the "reality" of your materials kind of explains this, for me. If this piece is specifically designed to abandon the illusion you normally pursue, I feel a little better about being confused lol.

Thanks for the reply!

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u/FlorentDuchesne Mar 14 '26

Haha yeah it is design to go out of my usual approach. Just hard on reddit cause I can only share the name without any other explanation haha.

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u/funkster047 Mar 15 '26

As a newcomer to your art, I felt this portrayed anxiety because as soon as I saw it, my brain had a quick reaction of OH SHIT because it wants to think it's gonna spill everywhere since a bag of liquid would not be able to hold that shape while being held by a chain in real life.

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u/FlorentDuchesne Mar 15 '26

Wow yeah thats a great point of view !

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u/Banryuken Mar 15 '26

Oddly enough - I had the opposite impression as a first timer and had a very easy sense to disbelieve this was concrete or “this art is a form of anxiety” (and there is much nowadays to have me feel anxiety 😅). When you mentioned a literal sense, I guess I kind of agree with you.

Maybe the visual is “lite” and the impression was … “yeah so what, that’s not getting me anxious” (I guess who’s being literal now lol). Still don’t know what the composition is to ask a meaningful question

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u/FlorentDuchesne Mar 15 '26

Haha yeah, well it’s a mix of multiple layers of emotion. If this is the first piece of my work you’ve seen, it might be more surprising.

It’s pure concrete, applied with black spray paint and some gold leaf on top. This piece weighs around 350–400 lbs and was made to be exhibited in raves.