A French designer and director based in London, Fabrice Le Nezet has now turned his hand to sculpture, and with the first series shown here, 'Measure', he has created something fascinating and challenging. On first seeing these images we weren't even convinced they were real, but Le Nezet's huge concrete blocks, tethered by welded metal webs, are his attempt to "materialise tension, to make the notions of weight, distance and angle palpable.", as he puts it. These suspended masses of concrete have a real sense of threat to the viewer - similar to Richard Serra's iconic, menacing Trip Hammer which has lurked precariously over gallery visitors in Tate Modern and MoMA in New York - but the bright colours of Le Nezet's metal tethers offset this, and make the objects feel lighter and more frivolous. Speaking of which, another of Le Nezet's series, entitled simply 'Spring-Summer 2012' (final two images here) shows a different sculptural direction, with candy-coloured, vaguely anthropomorphic playful figures with more than a hint of the Memphis movement about them.
Over to Le Nezet again, for the final word on 'Measure': "On my previous projects I was already working on simplifying shapes, using a minimal range of materials. This project was the next step for me as I worked on simplifying the concept itself. And because of the simplicity of the subject, I wanted it to be obvious. Obvious and massive."
All work © Fabrice Le Nezet
