Valérie Blass

Drawing on a wide range of sculptural techniques that include casting, carving, modelling and assemblage, Valérie Blass creates strange hybrid objects that combine animal, human and inanimate forms. Experimentation and studio work—finding material solutions to formal problems—are central to her practice. Blass creates hand-made forms that are self-supporting, vertical and autonomous, which places her within the classical tradition of figurative sculpture. At the same time, the diversity of the materials she uses, the abundance of found, purchased or fabricated objects in her work as well as her enthusiasm toward 20th century material culture are characteristics that anchor her art in the domains of assemblage and bricolage.