Pierre Sabatier: Monograph

Pierre Sabatier (1925-2003), was an artist whose work was completely engaged within the crossover between art, architecture and design. Working in ceramics and mosaics early in his career, he became best known for his monumental metal sculptures and wall installations, which alone total around 300 worldwide. Sabatier could be the most well-known French artist that you didn’t know, as anyone who has spent time in the country will undoubtedly recognize at least one of his large and impressive works featured in the book.

This was the impetus to create this monograph. His son, Damien Sabatier explains that the family wanted to create a wider audience to discover his father’s artwork because during his lifetime his work essentially existed outside of the art market. Rather, he worked directly with architects on projects without considering his place in a wider, more public way. He notes, “Also we wanted to show the multiple dimensions of his art and experimentations; some people know his pieces of design, other his ceramic murals, other his metal sculptures, etc., but very few know his work in its entire scope”.

The monograph, at 400 pages, features an incredible range of photographs and is a comprehensive visual archive. Damien explains, “We were lucky to have amazing archives with thousands of pictures my father took himself with his Rolleiflex camera during his entire career, (he was the only one to document one by one his projects and he was quite a good photographer), and [there were] hundreds of boxes with prints, slides and negatives that we carefully took care of in his apartment/workshop in Paris. We also have an incredible collection of sketches and gouaches he did to prepare his many monumental artworks. We wanted to build on and highlight those archives to make the book even more interesting and engaging”.

In addition, the monograph features a selection of photographs of Sabatier’s studio located 300 km south of Paris, taken by François Halard. The family commissioned Halard to photograph the studio specifically for the book, knowing Halard’s sensitivity with artist’s studios and his poetic visual approach. “I knew François would love the place because it has a strong and very authentic spirit, you can still feel my father’s spirit ruling the place with so many objects and samples of nature that inspired him around the studio (rocks, sculpted driftwood, shells, or animal skeletons, like a curiosity cabinet)”, Damien notes.

Wanting to keep faithful to Pierre’s vision about art, architecture and design as completely integrated, the asked experts in each field to contribute texts. They invited Frédéric Migayrou, who is in charge of architecture at the Pompidou Center; Anne Bony, one of the most influential reference for historical design in France, and Axelle Corty a journalist writing for different modern and contemporary art magazines.

There will be a host of upcoming events to celebrate the book including a launch at The Pompidou Center on the 27th of April that will include a talk moderated by Damien Sabatier in the company of the three contributors: Frédéric Migayrou, Anne Bony, Axelle Corty. In addition, there will be a show dedicated to Pierre Sabatier at Magen H Gallery in New York with book signing and presentation during Tefaf in May  2024. This will be followed by a show in collaboration between Magen H Gallery and Thierry Lemaire at The Invisible Collection in New York next June. Other exhibitons and events will happen in the fall as well.

Pierre Sabatier, Monograph, Éditions de l’Amateur, 2024.