Thomas Houseago's Monumental Sculptures Confront Landscape at Vassivière

Thomas Houseago's exhibition at the Centre international d'art & du paysage on Vassivière Island in Limousin, France, from July 3 to October 23, 2011, features monumental figurative sculptures that engage with the landscape and architecture. Curated by Chiara Parisi, the show includes works such as 'Lying Figure (Mother Father)', a headless bronze body in the grass, and 'Rattlesnake Figure', an aluminum cast evoking Picasso's 'Demoiselles d'Avignon'. Houseago, a British artist based in Los Angeles, gained attention at the 2011 Venice Biennale with installations at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. The exhibition, titled 'What Went Down', travels to Museum Abteiberg in Mönchengladbach, Germany, after its run at Modern Art Oxford and Vassivière. The sculptures, marked by visible armatures and rough textures, reference art history and popular culture, from Rodin's plasters to De Chirico's metaphysical landscapes. Works like 'Large Lamp' humorously echo the island's lighthouse, while 'Sister' (1996) is the oldest piece. The show also includes a conceptual room with a plaster egg and a wooden 'Museum' piece covered in discs. Houseago's practice, described as risky physically, economically, and artistically, raises questions about whether his sudden success is due to a general trend or a true artistic revelation.