Simon Periton, Le Voleur
Simon Periton
Le Voleur, 2018
mild steel, zinc coating, paint, lacquer
270 x 190 x 2 cm
Courtesy Simon Periton and Sadie Coles HQ (Londres)
Simon Periton’s Le Voleur is a cut-steel sculpture which presents a single open facet. Resembling Art Nouveau tracery in the shape of giant leaves, their intricate colored latticework describes a network of minute veins. Casting ornamental shadows and filtering light through their color-tinted filaments, the works respond subtly and mercurially to the setting in which they are placed. The work combines elements of drawing, sculpture and architecture in a way that resonates with Simon Periton’s broader practice, calling to mind an enlarged emblem or excised section of stained glass. Transmuting the aesthetics of his earlier cut-outs and paintings through high-precision methods of metalwork and casting, his latest works reflect an interest in alchemy both as a medieval chemistry and as a rich source of mystical and allegorical imagery. The concept of alchemy encapsulates the dualisms running through his art: romanticism collides with the occult, and nature has an unrealistic and dark dimension to it.
Biography of the artist
Born in 1964 in London, UK. Lives and works in Bath, UK.
Simon Periton produces paintings, sculptures and installations. His work reflects influences as diverse as fin de siècle aestheticism, the visual language of punk, cinema, and the occult. The artist, nurtured by a personal mythology, conducts an ongoing exploration of natural forms and experiments materiality. His works echo the environment in which they are exhibited.