Romain Barelier, a sculptor and art founder born in Rome in 1964, shapes bronze with an imagination fueled by reclamation and the memory of objects. Between artistic heritage and contemporary boldness, he creates powerful and unique works.
Born at the Villa Medici in Rome, Romain Barelier was immersed in a creative world from childhood. His parents, André Barelier and Brigitte Baumas, both sculptors, are recipients of the Grand Prix de Rome. He grew up in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, then at “La Ruche”, a mythical artists’ residence in Paris.
Very early on, he gravitated towards sculpture, and more specifically towards art casting. His studio, located in Ivry-sur-Seine, became a place of experimentation where artisanal tradition and contemporary creation meet.
Sublimated Raw Material: Bronze from Cardboard
Romain Barelier develops a unique technique: he uses cardboard — often recovered from the street or from automotive packaging — which he laminates, crumples, or tears, to create matrices for sculptures. These forms are then cast in bronze, retaining the rough and expressive imprint of the initial material.
This approach combines recycling, the memory of the object, and poetic transformation. The artist places great importance on manual gesture, modeling, and the link between apparent fragility and final solidity.
Barelier’s sculptures often have a strong, human presence. He regularly works on the female figure, paying homage to his models with tenderness, humor, and strength. Some works, like Ginette (2023), a large bronze lady over 2 meters tall, are the result of this benevolent gaze.
But the artist also draws from the city and its discarded items. Thus, abandoned objects like bicycles become the heroes of his creations. He reappropriates them and imbues them with a soul, as exemplified by his work The Bicycle Thief (2020), visible at Château d’Arsac.
“the Bicycle Thief” & “Ginette” at Château D’Arsac: a Poetry of Bronze and Steel.
Displayed in the gardens of Château d’Arsac, The Bicycle Thief draws attention with its frozen movement and raw material. This sculpture, made from recycled metal and a real bicycle, depicts a character in full stride, carrying his bicycle in an almost choreographic pose.
The work questions the boundary between theft, gesture, and wandering. It embodies Romain Barelier’s art: bringing aesthetic emotion from the ordinary, giving the object an almost mythological dimension.
Barelier’s sculptures often have a strong, human presence. He regularly works on the female figure, paying homage to his models with tenderness, humor, and strength. Some works, like Ginette (2023), a large bronze lady over 2 meters tall, are the result of this benevolent gaze.
Romain Barelier participates in numerous exhibitions, auctions, and his works are present in private and public collections. His work, both technical and sensitive, resonates within contemporary art circles.
With a strong identity, he perpetuates the spirit of his parents while asserting his own voice, oriented towards reclamation, transformation, and the expression of material.
To discover, along with other artists, on our Art & Vines page
https://chateau-arsac.com/art-contemporain-vigne-alliance-chateau-arsac/
