Fruit défendu XVII, 2023

Étienne Jacobée  

Lives and works in Chantilly.
He devoted himself entirely to sculpture in the early 1990s and was quickly noticed by the art world. Having had access since childhood to the worlds of metal and wood through his two grandfathers, Etienne Jacobée chose steel as his primary material. Familiar and expressive, he explores its full potential with freedom — moving from solid to void, from vertical constructions to horizontal stretches, from pure form to improbable assemblages, from smooth to textured surfaces, from strict geometric cuts to stylized welded segments.

In a constant state of exploration, the artist refuses to be confined to a single style — he also works with plaster and wood — yet acknowledges certain artistic lineages: Henri Laurens, Eduardo Chillida, Dominique Labauvie. In a language that remains stripped-down yet diverse, his work can evoke tribal art, the human body, or a poetic resonance. Jacobée’s sculptures invite touch — they are alive. He sometimes coats them with earth, allowing lichens to develop naturally and create unique surface textures. More recently, color has taken on a significant role through the use of paint and pigment.

Since 2019, musicians, composers, filmmakers, art critics, writers, and dancers have been invited into his studio among the sculptures to expand the experience of dialogue and reflection.

His work was featured in Artension’s 2015 special issue on contemporary sculpture, which also devoted a portrait to him in 2016. Several insightful articles by Emmanuel Daydé have also appeared in Art Absolument in 2016, 2018, and 2021.