Presentation

Bernard and Thérèse Duca, now deceased, created and developed in the 1970s a new technique to reproduce in hyperrealistic leather sculpture, the bodies of international models / clients who posed for them for 40 years.

French of Italian origin, after studying decoration (Ecole des Beaux Arts in Toulouse and Center Universitaire d'Art Dramatique de Strasbourg) from 63 to 66, he became a theater decorator and props designer. He worked with the team of Raymond Rouleau and Lila Nobili on various decorations for the Opéra, the Châtelet, the Sarah Bernhardt, the Odéon, the Comédie Française, the Mouffetard, the Epée de Bois, the Poche Montparnasse or Holliday on ice cream etc.

Bernard Duca turned first to fantastic painting and participated in this capacity in various Salons. Exhibitions in the Dauphiné, Geneva, Germany, Paris, etc. The characters in embossed bronze canvas included in his paintings, quickly give him the desire for relief and he naturally turns to sculpture.

Supported since 1973 by the gallery owner Iris Clerc, but not recognized in his time by art critics, Bernard Duca mainly worked on commission all his life. He has participated in many fairs; : Old and Young, Young Sculpture, F.I.A.C., International Leather Week, Festival of Eroticism...

Some commissioned pieces were acquired by The International Sports Museum in Lausanne (Switzerland), The CIO in Geneva, The National Leather Council in Paris...

The Ducas have worked on a new form of expression: Leather Sculpture. This method is truly a living art since it is from casts from nature that the sculpture-object was made. Starting from an indentation, they proceeded to make a shell in relief in polyester resin which they covered with leather.

This approach corresponds to that of photography - a process that they also used as basic research for the sculpture. They sought to convey the emotion felt in the snapshot, through the intrinsic truth of the body.

Precursor of hyperrealism, unknown to the general public, the rendering of leather sculptures seeks to achieve a meticulous representation of the living body.

His method is now taken up by his son Hervé Duca who only works to order through the Espace Grange gallery in Dampierre en Yvelines.

Of the 100 remaining pieces of Bernard Duca's creations, around twenty are now available for purchase, including those offered on Artsper.


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All artworks of Bernard Duca
Sculpture, St Sebastien, Bernard Duca

St Sebastien

Bernard Duca

Sculpture - 135 x 83 x 43 cm

$40,655

Sculpture, Aile de poulet beige, Bernard Duca

Aile de poulet beige

Bernard Duca

Sculpture - 60 x 45 x 15 cm

$10,841

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Who is the artist?

Bernard and Thérèse Duca, now deceased, created and developed in the 1970s a new technique to reproduce in hyperrealistic leather sculpture, the bodies of international models / clients who posed for them for 40 years.

French of Italian origin, after studying decoration (Ecole des Beaux Arts in Toulouse and Center Universitaire d'Art Dramatique de Strasbourg) from 63 to 66, he became a theater decorator and props designer. He worked with the team of Raymond Rouleau and Lila Nobili on various decorations for the Opéra, the Châtelet, the Sarah Bernhardt, the Odéon, the Comédie Française, the Mouffetard, the Epée de Bois, the Poche Montparnasse or Holliday on ice cream etc.

Bernard Duca turned first to fantastic painting and participated in this capacity in various Salons. Exhibitions in the Dauphiné, Geneva, Germany, Paris, etc. The characters in embossed bronze canvas included in his paintings, quickly give him the desire for relief and he naturally turns to sculpture.

Supported since 1973 by the gallery owner Iris Clerc, but not recognized in his time by art critics, Bernard Duca mainly worked on commission all his life. He has participated in many fairs; : Old and Young, Young Sculpture, F.I.A.C., International Leather Week, Festival of Eroticism...

Some commissioned pieces were acquired by The International Sports Museum in Lausanne (Switzerland), The CIO in Geneva, The National Leather Council in Paris...

The Ducas have worked on a new form of expression: Leather Sculpture. This method is truly a living art since it is from casts from nature that the sculpture-object was made. Starting from an indentation, they proceeded to make a shell in relief in polyester resin which they covered with leather.

This approach corresponds to that of photography - a process that they also used as basic research for the sculpture. They sought to convey the emotion felt in the snapshot, through the intrinsic truth of the body.

Precursor of hyperrealism, unknown to the general public, the rendering of leather sculptures seeks to achieve a meticulous representation of the living body.

His method is now taken up by his son Hervé Duca who only works to order through the Espace Grange gallery in Dampierre en Yvelines.

Of the 100 remaining pieces of Bernard Duca's creations, around twenty are now available for purchase, including those offered on Artsper.

What are their 3 main works?

When was Bernard Duca born?

The year of birth of the artist is: 1944