Vincent Ganivet describes his work as « a kind of DIY ». This visual artist assembles and superposes breezeblocks, bricks, and other cumbersome items like the bricks of a giant construction game, hijacking the codes of the building industry in the process. In fact, this forty-something artist has long worked on building sites and has retained a keen interest in heavy raw materials. Today, Vincent Ganivet uses these unwieldy materials to build arches, curves, and domes which sometimes evoke Romanesque cathedrals.
He mentions Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi as an inspiration, borrowing from him the « hanging-chain model », i.e., how to keep a concrete arch upright without it collapsing. « My creations are rather systems than sculptures. Sometimes, they stand upright much to my own surprise », he says. The onlookers will also be amazed by the astonishing lightness that emanates from his works. They may seem monumental in terms of their size, but they are never lacking in grace.
