Tête de lion des montagnes, Circa 2022

Jean-François Gambino   Emerging artists

Jean-François Gambino is a French sculptor born in Paris in 1966. After working for more than ten years in the after-sales service of the famous jewelry house Cartier, on rue de la Paix in Paris, he gradually turned towards artistic creation. In 1997, he discovered sculpture from Chantal Adam, who taught him the modeling techniques, particularly the work with terracotta, as well as the processes of patination from natural pigments. This experience marked a turning point in his journey and led him, in 2003, to change his professional orientation to become an animal sculptor.

Jean-François Gambino's work focuses mainly on the representation of the animal world. His bestiary is first largely composed of wild animals and African fauna, before also opening up to European species. Lions, gorillas, elephants, rhinoceroses, pumas, bears, foxes, birds, seals, or even squirrels become the subjects of his sculptures. Through them, the artist seeks to reproduce not only their appearance but also their attitude, their movement, and their energy.

One of the essential characteristics of his approach lies in the spontaneity of the modeling. Jean-François Gambino favors a quick execution in order to keep the energy and vitality specific to each animal in the material. His sculptures are thus distinguished by relatively rough and expressive lines, associated with matte and subtle patinas. This approach allows him to suggest the power, liveliness, and sometimes the instinctive character of his models without seeking to reproduce every detail systematically. Animal sculpture thus becomes a means of translating the force of the living as much as its formal diversity.

While his work initially developed around terracotta and patinas with natural pigments, Jean-François Gambino is today particularly recognized for his bronze sculptures. His works are made in limited editions and explore a wide variety of species and postures. Among his works are notably Paradis perdu, Python, Gibraltar, Vol de nuit, Pattes de velours, or even Écureuils. Paradis perdu, created in 2020 in bronze and glass, notably testifies to this search for the representation of the animal world.

In 2020, Jean-François Gambino received the international prize Wildlife Artist of the Year with Paradis Perdu, an award that consecrates his work in the field of animal sculpture. His journey also includes group exhibitions, notably the exhibition organized by In Arte Veritas with Marc Le Rest in 2024. His work is today in the field of contemporary art and more specifically in animal sculpture, where his spontaneous modeling approach and his attention to the energy of life constitute the fundamental elements of his artistic language.