That sculpture has come a long way since the ubiquitous statues of Greek mythology is immediately clear when entering Gilles Mihalcean‘s exhibition Quitter la terre currently on show at Circa. The first ‘statue’ you’re greeted with is titled St-Valentin and consists of the poor martyr’s head, gold-wrapped and unceremoniously dumped into an over-sized truffle cup. So much for sentimentality. Mihalcean examines the tradition of the romantic statue and how it has evolved in contemporary art. He plays with materiality and the symbolism of simple objects, leaving subtle hints for viewers to decode, though none too obscure for the message to get across. I particularly enjoyed the penguin constructed out of meticulously glued together wooden popsicle sticks and the beautifully crafted piece Clair de lune with its elegant vertical slab of pale wood which has been carved to represent the cratered Lunar surface. Make sure you don’t accidentally step on the little Apollo capsule floating just above the gallery floor.
The aesthetic of Mihalcean’s artworks borders on installation, though each piece is balanced and compact enough to stay within the boundary of sculpture.

Centre d’exposition Circa
space 444
Gilles Mihalcean
Quitter la terre
exhibition period: February 14 – March 21, 2009
www.circa-art.com