Jacques Delahaye June 17, 1928 - May 13, 2010 Sculptor
Julien Alvard
Julien Alvard. Text: "J.C. Delahaye" from: QUADRUM 2 - Revue Internationale d'Art Moderne (p. 174), Exhibition Brussels, November 1956. (re-published: Jacques Delahaye - The Sculptor, Kettler Kunst, 2006. Publisher: Theo Bergenthal / Joachim Stracke)
"J.C. Delahaye"
by Julien Alvard
Two years ago, in the Verneuil Gallery, on the occasion of a sculpture exhibition, one could see a rather bulky figure, suspended under the ceiling like a bat. That was the "Big Insect" by J.C. Delahaye. This great insect of wooden slats hovered like a Don Quichottesque apparition over the erected stones and soldered iron bars in the exhibit. One felt, that this appearance was somehow out of place. This was an undeniable advantage that set them apart from the environment for their uniqueness. It took nothing more to draw attention to its creator. The confirmation of this was given by the following work by Delahaye, which this time are based on human - animal metamorphoses. Designed with a keen sense for coincidences and fractures, the resulting animal shapes seem to form a fragile whole by joining pieces of wood and allowing the artist to choose to create different states of tension. The long splinters he uses, with their extensive forms let us think about animals, stretched to the extreme. Whether it is fish, snakes or cats, everywhere you will find a kind of magnetic field of tension again. One might shy away from such a fragile technique, as it is sculptures made of wood and plaster. But to the extent that the approach to form reflects freedom and diversity, it reveals, it must be recognized, an unexpected and fascinating creative force.
