Lucien Petit

Lucien Petit is a French sculptor who trained in industrial ceramics. Their manufacturing techniques, artistic potential and philosophy have all influenced his output. Petit’s early work produced small, rudimentary houses and shelters. This theme of dwelling and abode continues to inform his sculptures in a more abstract yet forceful way, as have an interest in architecture, construction and the broader theme of receptacles.

Petit today works mainly in stoneware. Geometry determines the outlines of his sculptures, which bear the hallmarks of the avant-garde and brutalism. These monolithic works are often structured by the binary opposites of full and empty, form and counter-form, elevation and collapse, convex and concave, mineral and organic. The artist’s most recent works encompass anthropomorphism and abstraction. Their austere silhouettes and rough surfaces lend themselves well to Modern Shapes Editions. 

Lucien Petit was born in 1957 in Sancerre, in the Berry region of France. He lives and works just outside of La Borne. This village has a centuries-old history of pottery manufacture and is now a thriving community of ceramics artists.