Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel
Biography
Daniel Dewar
Born in 1976 in Forest of Dean, UK
Lives and works in Brussels, BE
Grégory Gicquel
Born in 1975 in Saint-Brieuc, FR
Lives and works in Plévenon, FR
Collaborating as an artistic duo since 1998, Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel have dedicated almost three decades to exploring and experimenting with craft and industrial techniques, modern and traditional tools, and an encyclopaedic range of materials. Through this singular approach, their practice constitutes at its very core an ongoing questioning of the artist’s and—more broadly—humankind’s relationship to labour and production, as well as the historical co-evolution of industry and art. Dependent on their own knowledge and physical labouring force, each new sculpture or series is created in the duo’s workshops. This involves phases of trial and error as well as a staunch commitment to lengthy periods of work time, maintaining a level of uncertainty regarding the outcome. Their refusal to outsource or delegate means the duo’s repertoire of both traditional and modern crafts skills and knowledge of materials is dizzying, including hand-built kilns, wood-fired stoneware ceramics, hand-woven textiles, sculpted oak wood or granite, and computer-assisted embroidery, amongst many others.
While it has been said that Dewar and Gicquel’s subject matter is the material and technique itself, pushing each to its limits and beyond, it remains impossible to ignore the importance of the motifs or themes they choose to represent. Their practice unfolds as a constant investigation into the overlaps between the images they depict and the craft used to depict them, inviting viewers to resolve visual rebuses. Whether by association (embroidering butterflies in intricate, flitting stitches on textile; modelling mud-dwelling carps in clay), absurdist tautology (hand-modelling standard ceramic washbasins in ceramic, carving bathrooms and bodies from fleshy pink marble), or shifts in scale (hand-weaving woollen sweaters fit for giants), this library of motifs serves as much more than a source of inspiration: It is a conduit for their intricate, evolving personal philosophy.
