DORIS is GUEST OF HONOUR of THE CROISSY BEAUBOURG AUTUMN SALON from October 16 2009 to October 18 2009.
SOLO EXHIBITION in the BERNARD d'AGESCI MUSEUM in the City of Niort (France) from May 4 2009 to June 7 2009.
SOLO EXHIBITION at the LIVRY-GARGAN CASTLE from March 11 2009 to March 29 2009. Address: 44 avenue du Consul Général Nordling-93190 Livry-Gargan. France. Preview: Saturday March 14th at 11 a.m.
Artist lecture, called "Sculpture and Handicap," on Friday March 14th at 6.30 p.m. Scholars lecture on March 5 and 6 2009 .
He takes part in the 49th SALON of the CAA in the CHANORIER CASTLE in the City of Croissy sur Seine from March 21 2009 to April 5 2009.
AWARDS AND EXHIBITIONS:
When DORIS lost his sight at the age of 30, he has found in sculpture a new way in which he could be completely fulfilled. For more than 10 years, he has regularly received awards in Art competitions and Salons, in France and abroad.
Governor’s Prize from the City of Kyoto-Japan
Price of the Jury in the L’Oreal Trophy competition in 2000
Medal of the Painting Festival in Magné
New artist award (Salon de Versailles)
Prize of the Jury (Salon de Colombes)
and in Paris:Prize in sculpture in the Autonomic Salon competition,
Bouchardon Prize (Salon du Xè),
Silver Medal of the Salon d'Hiver,
First Prize in sculpture (Salon du X au XV).
He has organised many one-man exhibitions of his work, which are appreciated for their modern shape and deep symbolism (Pilori Museum in Niort, Fontevraud Abbey, Museo Tiflologico in Madrid, multimedia library of Vandoeuvre, FNAC and Chateau d’Eau in Bourges, Caves Sainte Croix in Metz and in Paris, in the asset management company Ofivalmo, AXA corporate solutions, L'Oreal, Danone and Lafarge Head Offices).
DORIS WORKS
idol
dreams and glances
back from the fair
happiness
tenderness
midsummer night's dream
adoration
microcosm
ANOTHER IMPORTANT SCULPTURES:
A SCULPTURE called "TRIBUTE TO LOUIS BRAILLE" and created for the BICENTENNIAL OF THE BIRTH OF LOUIS BRAILLE:
Multimedia Library-Valentin Haüy Association- Paris-2009.
Doris says about it::"This sculpture calls up the Thinker or, rather, the brilliant Inventor: Louis Braille.
In a style, which is my own, the shapes are reduced to their most basic manifestation in order to focus on the top part which consists of hand and head.
Thus, following what has been described to me of a photograph of Louis Braille, I have simplified his face by sculpting mainly a broad forehead and high cheekbones.
The head is held up by a strong arm with no allusion to the other parts of the body.
The arm is V-shaped and ends in an opened hand, raised to the chin and pressing against it in a thoughtful attitude.
This top part of the sculpture is supported by a few sheets of paper that, like parchment, roll up upon themselves in two ends. A sentence, made with studs representing the Braille dots, is inscribed on it and recalls how innovative and universal the Louis Braille’s work was.
All my sculptures are intended to be symbolic, and this one is no exception.
As their three-dimensional forms incorporate an idea, they can be said to be symbolic.
And these forms which are refined to the extreme symbolize the idea that Louis Braille devoted great thought before coming up with the realisation of his alphabet.
This sculpture symbolizes in a way the train of his thoughts: how the spark of genius, which allowed him to invent his code, flashed out of his brain and was physically transmitted through his arm to the paper.
As I truly want to give equal weight to that which is tactile and that which is visual, I have chosen to use different materials with different colours. This is another characteristic of my works. So, this sculpture is made up of three different materials, namely:
-white marble powder mixed with polyester resin for the vertical element whose forms are perfectly smooth and round
-wood for the horizontal element sculpted in the shape of rolls of paper. It is lime wood, left in its natural state. It is a pale yellow colour with some light brown veins. I have treated it with a coat of clear wax and polished it highly so that it is slippery to the touch.
-and finally several embossed stainless steel studs, which symbolize the Braille code and which emerge from the wood.
The whole sculpture aims to please the hand as well as the eye.
To sum up, I would say that, instead of making a realistic portrait, I wanted to achieve an important and symbolic sculpture, which can express how great Louis Braille’s personality was and how significant his fabulous invention."
The sentence at the bottom of the sculpture reads:
"Born in the dark, his system of writing brings the light of knowledge to people who cannot see, all over the world.”
A SCULPTURE YOU MUST SEE: THE SCULPTED FOUNTAIN CALLED "DREAMS AND GLANCES" IN THE CITY OF NIORT-FRANCE
There is no doubt that this twin monumental sculpture which stands at the approach to the city of Niort has established Doris’s reputation as an artist. It is also a first for blind sculptors in France. The two components of the sculpture, a woman and a man, are facing each other. And while they are exchanging glances, they seem to dream, which reminds us of RODIN’s “The Thinker”, but in a reinterpreted style.
As they are placed side by side on the fountain, their bodies create a heart shape that makes us think of the tenderness, which unites them. There is a communication between the two sculptures through the medium not only of the eyes but also of thought and bodies.
These ”dreaming forms” whose eyes are not shown, which is not surprising if we remember that the artist who created them is blind, seem to dance because of the fountain and the lighting effects and to invite us to live their mysterious dreams.
The truncated pyramid-shaped basin helps DORIS’s monumental sculptures to gain height and as it is also an ornamental pond, to reflect them. The sculptures come from the Coubertin Foundry.
This work has a great impact on the landscape and, with its symbolic meaning and modern design, it is an integral part of the ambitious urban renovation project of the City of Niort.
The fountain was conceived by Jean Max Llorca Consultant, one of the top water feature designers in France. In an underground room, which cannot be seen, there is an imposing machine which can filter 8 cubic meters of water in a closed circuit.
