Patrice Dangel
Sculptor
After graduating from the Ecole Boulle in 1973, Patrice Dangel studied sculpture at the Beaux-Arts de Paris.
His first job as a chaser was at the Valsuani art foundry, famous for the quality of its castings, which seduced Rodin, Camille Claudel and Maillol, among others. It was here that he mastered the art of statuary and the art of patina.
Since 1977, Patrice Dangel has been restoring objects in the Bastille district of Paris with his partners Patrice Gilbon and Jean-Pierre Coroller. Today, this workshop is recognized as one of the finest in the tradition of French bronze craftsmen, and their mastery is unrivalled.
From this accomplished training, he draws the quintessence of the pieces he restores to imagine and realize his creations.
Through contact with the pieces he approaches, he discovers furniture construction techniques, as well as materials as diverse as wood, stone, ceramics, glass paste, mica and, of course, bronze, his material of choice.
He chisels and planes metal to shape it. He sculpts clay, wood, wax and metal using the “repoussé” method. He creates forms in plaster, preparatory work before casting in bronze: lamp bases, large towers, luminous basins, giant pots, table structures and consoles are cast, to which he applies his mastery of patinas.
Patrice Dangel has an affective relationship with these materials, which give life to the object, and he prefers bronze because it responds to the brilliance of its patinas and requires a nobility of craftsmanship.
His universe is that of a playful, whimsical world inspired by animal themes and elegant motifs, revealing in each object primitive strength and preciousness through the treatment of the material and its ranges of brown and gold colors.
Between classicism and modernity, between simplicity and stylized ornamentation: animal heads, friezes, graphic arabesques, Patrice Dangel’s work creates a beautiful coordination of utility and luxury.
A work that pays tribute to craftsmanship and encourages its continued existence.
