Benjamin Sabatier

Born in Le Mans -France- in 1977
Lives and works in Paris

His website: https://www.ibk.fr/
Bodson Gallery
Interview below

The first time I heard about Benjamin Sabatier it was when I saw images on the Internet of those awesome minimalist and powerful sculptures.

Because Yes, what it is all about with French artist Benjamin Sabatier is Sculpture; not installation or any nice display of objects in a room. I mean each piece contains in itself the vocabulary required to say it is a sculpture -an installation is an interaction of objects each of which is not necessarily a sculpture- It is all smartly developed:

each piece has its own dynamic,

no hazard, each assemblage of wood or iron -or whatever it is- is made in purpose,

when turning around details catch your retina all around,

the light circulates through the whole sculpture to give breathe to the piece,

and the bases of the sculpture always bring the way we look at the sculpture to another level

Besides, when the sculptures are assembled all together to make an installation the ensemble is perfectly balanced. Each piece responds to each other and works perfectly well all together. Nothing is missing, nothing is over exposed.

Then of course if you pay attention to Benjamin Sabatier’s biography you discover he puts a “contemporary envelope” to his work with the concept of IBK which refers both to the world of business (IKEA) and to the history of art (International Klein’s Blue) but, I would add “Hey Benjamin, no need of that smart idea of IBK your work is as simple as brilliant!” Beatrice Chassepot

"Hard Work" -2012- Courtesy Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont & the artist — “Hard Work” -2012-
Courtesy Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont & the artist

INTERVIEW by be-Art Magazine

be-Art Magazine: It sounds like you were born in the Arts with your parents both artists and “mécènes”in Le Mans –France- and you met at a very early age some famous artists like Keith Haring or Claude Viallat. With such entourage wasn’t it too hard to want to become an artist?

Benjamin Sabatier: I come from a family of 4 children and I am the only one who took this path. But yes, it is true that I was exposed to art at a very early age.

While other children dreamed of becoming super heroes, I wanted to become an artist. I believe I’ve always developed some kind of artistic activity.

Even as a child, I would spend a lot of time drawing and painting, putting all my effort and conviction into it. The diversity of artists and artistic practices that I was exposed to via my parents allowed me to catch a glimpse of the freedom associated with the artistic career. With this cultural legacy in hand, I had to find my own,personal path.

be-Art Magazine: Your first Art Teacher was Gina Pane, the French priestess of the Body Art movement. Do you think that the knowledge of body art has helped in the making of your sculpture?

Benjamin Sabatier: For sure, Gina Pane continues to influence my work today. I’ve actually done several performances, an artistic medium that I value and that influences my relationship to art.

As a child, I was fascinated by the way Keith Haring drew “live”, in front of the public, without a preparatory sketch. In my works you can see the energy that emanates from my actions. It’s not a coincidence that the notion of “Work” is central to my oeuvre.

In my pieces, everything is revealed. I want to give visibility to all the constituent elements of the artwork –actions and materials-, so that the spectator can see them as well. One could consider my works to be “action sculptures” in a similar way that Pollock’s were considered “action paintings”.

Cans III Courtesy the artist — Cans III
Courtesy the artist

be-Art Magazine: When you start with a sculpture is it the found object that inspires you? Or a drawing of a sculpture you previously do? What comes first?

Benjamin Sabatier: I always start with a drawing. This is the fastest way to give a form to ideas. My pieces are often born out of several drawings that at one point come together and fuse into a single one. But it would be oversimplifying to say that my sculptures are a result of my drawings.

The creative process is composed of a series of events, of surprises that influence the project. That’s where the work of the artists takes place, in the working process, somewhere between the project and the object. During the production stage, the distance separating the desired goal and the final result becomes the core of the artist’s work.

Cans II Courtesy the artist — Cans II
Courtesy the artist

be-Art Magazine: it seems that you like to introduce all the opposites in one sculpture: heavy and light, color and gray, line and circle. Is that intentional or first intuitive?

Benjamin Sabatier: I do that on purpose. I want my work to be a bit brutal in order to achieve visual and semantic efficiency, as in a logo. This happens in a sort of spark; it results from the confrontation of opposing shapes, materials and gestures.

Although I want my intentions to be visible in the artwork, I rely foremost on intuition; its final form always relies on a hunch.