ANTOINE PONCET (B. 1928)

Antoine Poncet was born in Paris in 1928. Because of his Swiss descent and the high demand for his work, the artist was selected to represent Switzerland at the Venice Biennale in 1956. Today, his work can be found in numerous museums, like the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, the Fondation Régional d’Art Contemporain, Paris, the Galeria d’Arte Moderna, Milan, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Hirshborn Museum, Washington DC, the Museum of Fine Art, Minneapolis, the Museum of Fine Art, Toronto, and many more. During his career, Poncet received several awards, including the ‘Henry Moore Prize’ in Japan in 1983.
Antoine Poncet was highly influenced by the work of Jean Arp and Constantin Brancuși in terms of form, shape, volume and the quest for a play of light in their sculptures. – The quest for a play of light in his sculptures that could be enhanced by smoothly polishing the surface of the work, so that the texture becomes even and glossy. Observing Poncet’s bronzes, the viewer is almost under the impression as if though the works were still looking to find their shape, creating a sense of dynamism and momentariness.