sara favriau carves a delicate wooden cityscape at domaine de chaumont-sur-loire

as part of the domaine de chaumont-sur-loire’s latest artistic season, paris-based artist sara favriau has sculpted a wooden landscape of miniature architectural structures. for ‘or, prologue for a chimera’, favriau has carved pieces of re-claimed wood with an inventiveness and painstaking attention to detail, creating a precarious and fragile tableau of tiny cabins. suspended from a sculptural framework, the small-scale dwellings are connected by carefully-carved bridges and staircases, completing the delicately formed landscape.

all images © eric sander

favriau’s installation centers around the idea of ​​extension, creating bridges between form and content. the sculptural work comprises carefully carved wooden blocks borrowed from construction sites, which have been sculpted and assembled to create huts and cabins of varying dimensions. made into miniature maquetes, the wood takes on a new life, where they are both strong and fragile at the same time. ‘I take over the function of ‘framework’ by simple procedures and gestures,’ favriau explains. ‘the object becomes a hybrid between structure and ornament, and offers a new phase of reading, beyond the manufacturing process.’

favriau’s work is among 13 new installations on view domaine de chaumont-sur-loire, and is presented alongside an immersive and multi-sensory installation by miguel chevalier that transports viewers to an alternative, digital universe lined with botanical motifs.

Save