Par le sable et le sel

This sculpture, entitled Par le Sable et le Sel, was installed on the creation of the new Fontvieille district and represents the meeting of sea and land. The sheer scale of Amado’s sculptures often comes as a surprise. His creations resemble abstract fossils, emphasizing the essential, elementary, vital nature of space and matter in their very reality. These monumental sculptures are evocative of cave dwellings, vessels, or desert cities. The mineral goes back to the very beginnings of time, yet is destined to become sand, gradually eroded by salt. Amado preferred the authenticity of raw material, usually basalt cement, whether unfired or fired, with a rugged appearance in tones ranging from grey to rust. Jean

Amado was a sculptor, born in 1922 in Aix-en-Provence. He studied drawing and painting, before concentrating on ceramic art. He set up his personal studio in his native city in 1947. In the 1950s, he began focusing on architectural sculpture, incorporating his bas-reliefs or fountain sculptures into larger edifices. These included decorative door frames in buildings in Marseille’s Old Port district, a 40 meter-high Totem pole and five fountains for a complex designed by the architect Fernand Pouillon in Algiers.
In 1957, he patented a new material dubbed “Cerastone”, a form of enamelled refractory concrete made using refractory cement, porphyry, or basalt and water, which he used in most of his work. He was commissioned to create large sculptures for public spaces in various locations around France, including the monument to Arthur Rimbaud, Le Bateau ivre, which was installed in Marseille’s Parc du Prado in 1989. Retrospectives devoted to his work have been held in Paris, Marseille, and Aix-en-Provence. He died in 1995.