L’artiste se présente lui-même comme un artiste purement physique qui « penserait avec ses mains et sculpterait avec ses tripes ». Il travaille à partir de débris de bouts de ferraille de boites de conserve. Puis il les assemble et leur donne forme. Forme humaine comme l’hommage à Léon (1964) ou La Ginette (1958). Forme animale comme La Poule Paon (1981) ou La Rambaud (1990). Ces accumulations de métal rendent parfois hommage : à Picasso (Le Centaure, 1983) ou à Léo Valentin (Le Hollandais, 1991) « homme-oiseau » qui s’est tué lors d’un saut en parachute en 1965. Il est le créateur du trophée de la cérémonie des césars du cinéma français. Il étudie à l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris. Il réalise d’abord des essais de soudures et des sculptures en ferrailles avant de centrer son travail sur la technique de la compression dirigée. À l’aide d’une presse hydraulique il compresse des objets divers comme des automobiles et les érige en sculpture... La représentation fait place à l’esthétique pure. Cet acte d’appropriation se veut un défi à la société de consommation et le rapproche donc du mouvement des Nouveaux Réalistes aux côtés d’Arman, de Tinguely et de Niki de Saint Phalle. Après les compressions viennent les expansions. L'expansion est le contraire de la sculpture. César laisse la matière définir son espace et son volume/sa forme. Il n’y a plus de médiation plus d’intervention. César s’intéresse également aux empreintes humaines (pouce, sein, poing). Il va réaliser Le Pouce à l’occasion d’une exposition sur le thème de la main en 1965. À cette première sculpture de 45 cm de hauteur vont succéder d’autres Pouces déclinés dans toutes les tailles et tous les matériaux. Un Pouce en bronze de 6 m de haut sera érigé au Parc Olympique de Séoul en 1988 et un autre de 12 m à La Défense en 1993. César bénéficie d’une notoriété à l’échelle mondiale. Ses œuvres sont exposées entre autres à la Tate Gallery de Londres, au MoMa de New York, au Centre Georges Pompidou à Paris.
The artist presents himself as a purely physical artist who "thinks with his hands and sculpts with his guts". He works from scraps of scrap metal from cans. Then he assembles them and gives them form. Human form as the homage to Leon (1964) or Ginette (1958). Animal form like the Peacock Hen (1981) or the Rambaud (1990). These accumulations of metal sometimes pay tribute: to Picasso (The Centaur, 1983) or to Leo Valentin (The Dutchman, 1991), "bird-man" who was killed during a parachute jump in 1965. He is the creator of the trophy of the ceremony of the Caesars of French cinema. He studied at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He first made welding tests and sculptures in scrap metal before focusing his work on the technique of directed compression. With the help of a hydraulic press he compresses various objects such as cars and erects them in sculpture. The representation gives way to the pure aesthetic. This act of appropriation is a challenge to the consumer society and thus brings him closer to the movement of the New Realists alongside Arman, Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle. After the compressions come the expansions. The expansion is the opposite of the sculpture. César lets the material define its space and its volume/form. There is no more mediation or intervention. César is also interested in human prints (thumb, breast, fist). He will realize the Thumb on the occasion of an exhibition on the theme of the hand in 1965. To this first sculpture of 45cm height will succeed other thumbs declined in all sizes and all materials. A bronze thumb 6m high was erected in the Olympic Park in Seoul in 1988 and another 12 meters high in La Défense in 1993. César benefits from a worldwide notoriety. His works are exhibited at the Tate Gallery in London, the MoMa in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
The artist presents himself as a purely physical artist who "thinks with his hands and sculpts with his guts". He works from scraps of scrap metal from cans. Then he assembles them and gives them form. Human form as the homage to Leon (1964) or Ginette (1958). Animal form like the Peacock Hen (1981) or the Rambaud (1990). These accumulations of metal sometimes pay tribute: to Picasso (The Centaur, 1983) or to Leo Valentin (The Dutchman, 1991), "bird-man" who was killed during a parachute jump in 1965. He is the creator of the trophy of the ceremony of the Caesars of French cinema. He studied at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He first made welding tests and sculptures in scrap metal before focusing his work on the technique of directed compression. With the help of a hydraulic press he compresses various objects such as cars and erects them in sculpture. The representation gives way to the pure aesthetic. This act of appropriation is a challenge to the consumer society and thus brings him closer to the movement of the New Realists alongside Arman, Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle. After the compressions come the expansions. The expansion is the opposite of the sculpture. César lets the material define its space and its volume/form. There is no more mediation or intervention. César is also interested in human prints (thumb, breast, fist). He will realize the Thumb on the occasion of an exhibition on the theme of the hand in 1965. To this first sculpture of 45cm height will succeed other thumbs declined in all sizes and all materials. A bronze thumb 6m high was erected in the Olympic Park in Seoul in 1988 and another 12 meters high in La Défense in 1993. César benefits from a worldwide notoriety. His works are exhibited at the Tate Gallery in London, the MoMa in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.