Nicolas Vallée
Nicolas Vallée
(1981-)
NV-S 04
Biomorphic sculpture, plaster, metal & painted metal
Signed
Unique piece
2024
France
Height 80 cm
Width cm
Depth cm
Nicolas Vallée lives and works in Toulouse, France, where he creates his sculptures entirely by hand, without the use of any machinery or help from assistants. This approach results in a limited production, making each piece unique.
As a self-taught artist, Vallée’s journey to sculpture was unconventional. A challenging youth prevented him from attending art school, leading him to a career in construction, where he honed his skills with materials like plaster, cement, and metal. However, a diagnosis of polyarthritis, a chronic illness, forced him to leave construction, ultimately guiding him to his true passion for sculpture.
Vallée’s artistic appreciation was profoundly influenced by his grandfather, Pierre Vallée (1924-2022), a modernist architect who shared his knowledge of art, design, and architecture. His sculptures draw deeply from biomorphism and surrealism, inspired by artists such as Isamu Noguchi, Leo Amino, Yves Tanguy, Jean Arp, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Joan Miró, Picasso and Adaline Kent.
Vallée’s forms are abstract yet subtly evocative of reality, creating a duality that is both recognizable and elusive. A recurring theme in his work is the relationship between shapes found in the natural landscape, geometry, and living beings, emphasizing the interplay between familiarity and ambiguity. His works are conceived with a delicate and nuanced balance between solidity and void, form and space.
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