Denis Morog was without doubt the master of sculpting concrete, which he treated in the manner of a precious metal. He began his career as an engraver, and from that skill he retained the culture and philosophy of contrasting positive and negative space. Throughout his career, his concrete panels an...
Denis Morog was without doubt the master of sculpting concrete, which he treated in the manner of a precious metal. He began his career as an engraver, and from that skill he retained the culture and philosophy of contrasting positive and negative space. Throughout his career, his concrete panels and sculptures were much in demand by famous architects such as Jacques Perrin-Fayolle (for the La Doua campus and La Part-Dieu library), Maurice Novarina (for the Cultural Centre of Bonlieu and the Courthouse in Annecy), and Roger-Martin Barade (for the Burgundy Regional Authority Building). The artist left a lasting impression on the Principality, particularly on the façade of the Ecole des Révoires, where the school pupils take part in workshops inspired by his imprinted concrete bas-relief technique.
Morog, also Denis Morog, was the pseudonym of Jean-Paul Delhumeau, a French sculptor, engraver, and painter born in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 3 December 1922. Educated at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he took an interest in the material and sensory aspects of texture, and in architectural elements that are subject to both the climate in their manufacture and to changes in natural light in their visual perception. He popularised the use of “monumental engraving” in urban architecture. Drawing on his training as an engraver to invent an original technique, he made his own moulds in polystyrene and other synthetic materials to create each form. Preferring to work alone, this urban designer was gifted with an artist’s imagination. In his studio, he drew, created, and tested his models to see how they weathered. Later, they would be adapted by contractors and engineers. Morog died on 1 September 2003 in Auxerre.
