Eight copies of this sculpture were cast by the founder Romain Barelier in the Parisian region. It picks up two of the recurring themes in Folon’s work: the bird, a symbol of freedom, and the man, who represents each of us, as we dream and hope, animated by our existence while our spirit escapes and...
Eight copies of this sculpture were cast by the founder Romain Barelier in the Parisian region. It picks up two of the recurring themes in Folon’s work: the bird, a symbol of freedom, and the man, who represents each of us, as we dream and hope, animated by our existence while our spirit escapes and invents another life. The work was exhibited on Place du Casino during the 5th Monte-Carlo Sculpture Biennale in 1995, and was then purchased by the State.
Jean-Michel Folon, born in Brussels in 1934, was a Belgian watercolourist, painter, engraver and sculptor. After briefly studying art in Brussels, he settled in the Paris region in 1955 and devoted himself to drawing without much success in France. Major American magazines, including the New Yorker and then the Times agreed to publish his dreamlike drawings, and he moved to the United States in 1960. He returned to France in the 1970s and became, in turn, an illustrator, actor and creator of animated credits for television, including the famous interlude for Antenne 2. He moved to Monaco in 1983 and began to sculpt. He worked first with wood and then bronze, casting his first sculpture, Person, in 1992. Until 2005, he worked in his studio at 8 Quai Antoine I, open to Port Hercule, and played a vital role in the development of artistic life in Monaco while continuing to exhibit in the world’s greatest museums. He was appointed a member of the artistic jury for the International Contemporary Art Prize awarded by the Prince Pierre of Monaco Foundation, chaired by H.R.H. Princess Caroline of Hanover. He was behind the creation of the artists’ studios on Quai Antoine I, which were officially opened in 1996 and have played host to internationally renowned artists who have close links with the Principality, such as Valerio Adami, Armand, Fernando Botero, Louis Cane and Sacha Sosno. He took part in the 4th and 5th Monte-Carlo Sculpture Biennales. Several of his works decorate public buildings in Monaco: Metamorphosis, a 73 m2 tapestry exhibited in the Rainier III Auditorium Troparium (State commission in 1989), the stained glass windows at the Monte-Carlo Bay, and the mosaics in the Carmes Chapel. He created a series of twelve bronze sculptures titled Avenue of Thoughts, which was gifted to the Council of Europe by H.S.H. Prince Albert II on 17 May 2006. Solo exhibitions have been devoted to his work at some of the world’s greatest museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of New York in 1990, and in the City of Florence in 2005, with an anthological exhibition at the Palazzo Vecchio. Prince Rainier III elevated him to the rank of Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit in 1989 and to Commander of the Order of Saint Charles in 2002. He died in Monaco in 2005.
