Philippe Hiquily (1925-2013) is a French sculptor and creator.
With his Hellenist father, he discovered Greece, was passionate about prehistory and archaeology, and later he frequented the Museum of Man, where he drew his sources of inspiration, in particular with the Paleolithic Venus callipyges and the stretched forms of Cycladic idols that would leave a profound impression on him.
The poverty of the materials recovered from scrap dealers will guide a language in which narration is part of his creative process that will very quickly stand out from that of his contemporaries.
The retrospective of Julio Gonzalez in 1952 at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris introduced him to the direct cutting and assembly of sheet metal by autogenous welding.
The “Sphyrelaton” technique, practiced by Greek sculptors of the archaic period who repelled and welded metal (the Charioteer of Delphi), was adopted by Hiquily.
He will create furniture, decorative elements and carve in a style that is unique to him and imbued with delicacy.
Free, hedonistic, he gives his works a spirit that is both dreamlike and surreal.
By integrating electric motors into his creations, he will breathe a new dimension into the traditional conception of sculpture.
Her fame grew and her work was sealed in history and daily life: the artist received public commissions (such as that of a 6-meter-high “Marathoner” for the city of Vitry-sur-Seine, in 1981).
His work is represented in numerous museums: MOMA and Guggenheim in New York, the National Museum of Modern Art and the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris.
Philippe Hiquily stayed away from the art market and artistic movements all his life.
In 1985, he was appointed Knight of the National Order of Arts and Letters.

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“The aim of sculpture is to surprise.”
Philippe Hiquily