These photographic images, made in 2010. show fleeting sculptural gestures created by the artist in situ during walks through the streets of Paris, the city in which he lives. His interest piqued by a particular piece of garbage or pile of exhausted materials, Courbot will return to the site, create a sculpture with the item, and have it documented. Prints of these images show us French Thonet—a lyrical and minimal assemblage that contains incredibly familiar curves, made as it is from a smashed and broken-down coat rack done in the style of the ubiquitous Thonet bentwood cafe chairs. In Le Style, a dire collection of angles is formed with the abandoned shelves of a bookcase. Seeming to almost improbably hover, the hasty yet laboured sculpture and attendant title are a clear reference to the de stijl movement, and in particular Gerrit Rietveld’s startling innovations.

Courtesy of Susan Hobbs Gallery

All images ©Didier Courbot