César Baldaccini

César Baldaccini was a highly acclaimed, influential French sculptor who gained international fame for his innovative works, which he termed ‘compressions’, created out of every day, frequently unorthodox materials and ‘found’ objects, including scrap metal. 

A pioneer of the Nouveau Réalisme movement, Baldaccini’s sculptures often took the form of fantastical interpretations of animals, insects, and body parts. 

As a child of Italian immigrants, his choice of media and broader artistic vision were influenced by poverty. Baldaccini left school aged 12 to begin working, but took art at local evening classes, before gaining a scholarship to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. It was at this point, during his studies, that he turned to unorthodox materials to create his pieces. Unable to afford the supplies of conventional materials, he collected items from the street or elsewhere and created or compounded sculptures out of his finds. He is credited with bringing scrap metal into the mainstream art world as a material of choice among sculptors.

Baldaccini’s inaugural solo art show took place in 1954 at the Galerie Lucien Durand, Paris. A successful career included collaborations with major fashion brands, such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès. Today, his sculptures can be found in prestigious collections worldwide in institutions that include the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Tate Britain, London. He was also the recipient of the 1988 Rodin Prize. Baldaccini died in 1998. His work was the subject of a major retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris in 2018.