I guess Michel Gondry has me in French mode this week. Why are the Frenchies so gloriously wacked when they put on the ol' beret and get on with the business of making art? Lilian Daubiss just had his first solo exhibition Arums Gallery in Paris. The works on display all skirt the line between art, fashion, decorative art and, of course, craft. Daubiss' work is labor intensive, relying on thousands and thousands of tiny pieces of cardboard strung together with wire. His forms range from costume-like garments in limited editions to breastlike cardboard fireplug/pimp chalices.
The obsessive craftsmanship in his work also brings Michel Gondry to mind. Daubiss takes a material that is so common that we take it for granted and makes us see it in a new way. He does this through old-fashioned hard work. Simultaneously, his sculptures never appear overworked--it is a rare feat to spend countless hours crafting something and still have it come off as fresh. His eye for texture and form are perfectly suited to the low tech medium that he has chosen.
