in the moment by Jeannine Falino
Lean and angular like his furniture, French artist Jacques Jarrige has developed an expressive and sensuous body of work since the 1980s. He enjoys a devoted following in Europe, particularly in his native France, where museums have been collecting his work, and his profile is beginning to rise among American collectors, aided by design magazines that depict his work with increasing frequency1. A sculptor in outlook, Jarrige says that “design bores me when it is decorative. . . . For me, the idea in itself of function is a ‘prison’ but perhaps I am reacting as a sculptor rather than a designer.”2 And while his designs certainly work with the principles of ergonomics, Jarrige doesn't follow the modernist dictum that form follows function. Instead he has created a unique vocabulary of sculptural forms that touch an ancient chord of memory. The volume and surface of his objects reference biomorphic artists Jean Arp, Constantin Brâncusi, Henry Moore, and Isamu Noguchi, among others, and his distinctive forms, often lacquered in black, add distinction to modern interiors. Jarrige is a thinker and a seeker who reads widely and experiments continually. Working in the moment, he is open to the chance view, connection, or exchange that may inform his work. He follows several threads of interest, toggling back and forth as inspiration calls. His sculptural inquiry into solids and voids has yielded some arresting designs that are imbued with a subtle, yet undeniably zoomorphic quality. Meanwhile, Jarrige’s exploration of the meandering line has led to some exciting breakthroughs in lighting,