Pascal Kern

1952, Paris, France - 2007

Presentation

Born in 1952, Pascal Kern lived and worked in Paris, where he studied at the Sorbonne. Kern uses photography to produce « sculptures », which explore the question of volume in all its aspects : the relationships between volume and surface, fullness and emptiness, mass and colour, depth and contour. Using found or natural forms, he elevats the every-day to an almost Iconic status ; fascinated with the space created and occupied by the subject, and the purity of it's form. The metal industrial objects and wooden moulds are retrieved from old factories and foundries, while the vegetables are grown from seed. The artist lived with his subject matter for a period of time before photographing, taking only one photograph which is later reproduced to life-sized. The cibachrome photographs of each subject are presented as diptychs, triptychs or polyptychs, in frames constructed with related materials. The final stage in the long process of crafting these incredible works is for them to be hung specifically (with precise instructions from the artist) to achieve a perfect balance ; the work appearing almost weightless whilst creating an unusually powerful presence.

Biography

Public collections

FNAC (FR)

FRAC Pays de Loire (FR)

FRAC Champagne Ardennes (FR)

FRAC  Picardie (FR)

FRAC Haute Normandie (FR)

FRAC Franche Comté (FR)

FRAC Basse Normandie (FR)

FRAC Alsace (FR)

FRAC Auvergne (FR)

Musée du Havre (FR)

Musée de Belfort (FR)

Musée d?Aurillac (FR)

Maison Européenne de la Photographie (FR)

Bibliothèque Nationale (FR)

Centre National d?Art et de Culture George Pompidou (FR)

Musée Réatu ? Arles (FR)

Musée National d?Art Moderne (FR)

Musée d?Art Moderne de Strasbourg (FR)

Musée Cantini ? Marseille (FR)

Fondation Cartier (FR)

Musée de Santa Barbara (2) ? (US)

Musée de Baltimore (US)

Musée de Philadelphie (US)

Museum of Fine Arts? Houston (US)

Collection Royale Belge (BE)

Collection de la Ville de Lannion (FR)

Collection de la Ville de Vitry-sur-Seine (FR)

Fonds Départemental d?Art Contemporain de Seine St Denis (FR)

Artothèque Angers (FR)

Artothèque Nantes (FR)

Art Institute of Chicago (US)

(French, European and American private collections)