Valentin Carron
Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Work from his oeuvre.
“Valentin Carron reproduced objects from his immediate surroundings: symbolically charged objects (sculptures, architectural fragments) taken from the reality of his region and its «landscape». Through the appropriation of cultural emblems or decorative ornaments from the vernacular culture, he questions the meaning of tradition and authenticity, the aesthetic concepts of kitsch and the modern ideal.
«The Valais, where I live and work, is an area that supposedly embodies the romantic, natural and wild character of Switzerland. A country of traditions. But this notion of «tradition» was in fact entirely invented in the late nineteenth century. This then, gave rise to a genuine political will to build a national cultural identity. Gradually, we started to manufacture pseudo-authentic objects. »
The works of Valentin Carron are re-formulated; synthetic materials often predominate over solid materials; sometimes, however, it is the other way around. Valentin is interested in the true-false, the substitute; he redistributes values through his appropriation. Through this play of materials, the highly symbolic and ambiguous meanings of the works are revealed.” – Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels