You can visit the citadel of Villefranche to admire the sculptures, bronzes, and drawings of Jean Marie Fondacaro exhibited in the Saint Elme chapel until January 15, 2014.
The training of this artist born in Nice in 1956 is that of a ‘tour de France’ companion. There he learns this art: sculpture and especially the love of well-done work. In his quest for the Holy Grail, the pursuit of perfection, he attends the fine arts schools: Tours, the Villa Arson in Nice, and Paris. The turning point was surely the Arman prize for creation won at the Contemporary Art Fair in Nice in 1996.
Jean Marie Fondacaro then became an artist of international stature. The year 2013 offers him the citadel of Villefranche starting in June with his monumental pieces appearing on the parapets of the ramparts and in the gardens of this citadel. With the arrival of winter, November gives him the Saint Elme chapel where he exhibits his bronzes, engravings, drawings, and porcelains.
The exhibition immerses us in the intimate world, the studio of this artist, which is already a beautiful Christmas gift. One will notice the finesse of his drawing lines and the slender lines of his bronzes.
The works seem suspended in the void, floating in weightlessness, overcoming the gravitational pull from which he has succeeded in escaping, thus giving his bronzes a fourth dimension. The roots of the sky, Jean Marie Fondacaro tells us. With these simple words, the artist perfectly sums up his work. One must learn to look with the heart to uncover that thin and subtle thread that keeps his bronzes suspended. How to classify, though this word is dreadful; one does not classify art, Jean Marie Fondacaro?
Expressionism, that of the essence of beings, would be the most appropriate term. We will leave it to Jean Marie to conclude the presentation of this exhibition:
“My work is not a demonstration, but a continuous existential quest.”
Thierry Jan
