Julien Monnerie crafts refined sculptural forms that evoke the lingering presence of perishable everyday objects—like fruits and vegetables—cast in materials such as pewter and tin. His wall-mounted sculptures mimic the negative spaces of molds or culinary utensils, preserving the delicate memory of objects that have vanished, suspended in time. These sculptural casts open like silent reliquaries: smooth, shadowy exteriors and crystalline interiors reveal intimate traces of what once existed—lemons, asparagus, pears—forming a dialogue between absence and form. Mounted with mechanisms adapted from household objects like stovetop espresso makers, Monnerie’s work emphasizes the interface between functionality and poetic transformation. His creations engage a tactile awareness: the viewer is invited to imagine texture and fragrance, to recall the fleeting essence of the original objects. Through this fusion of craftsmanship and conceptual rigor, Monnerie transforms quotidian molds into vessels of memory, interrogating how presence can endure through precise, delicate absence. Blurring sculpture and metaphor, his minimalist compositions consider the slow processes of loss and preservation, inviting reflection on how ordinary objects carry emotional and historical weight beyond their functional use. ...
