Art
#installation
#public art
#sculpture
#site-specific
#Stéphane Thidet
Stéphane Thidet Challenges Physics and Social Norms in His Site-Specific Installations
April 26, 2024
Grace Ebert
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-66118201d0a29e2dacfaa95d65bdc8fa.jpg)
“Rideau” (2020), in situ installation at Théâtre Graslin, Nantes, France, water, pumps, pond installation in situ. Photo © Martin Argyroglo, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Aline Vidal. All images shared with permission
Paris-based artist Stéphane Thidet invites viewers into wondrous worlds that skew perceptions and distort the laws of physics: a small wooden boat appears to arise from hard planks, flat stones nest inside a bookcase where paper tomes once stood, and water cascades from a Nantes theater making it impossible to enter without being drenched. Crafted with familiar materials and subject matter, Thidet’s site-specific installations and sculptures twist common scenes into unexpected territories.
Explore an archive of the artist’s work on his website.
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-0b88585c3eacb8244ab8c6fb21eb3664.jpg)
“Chair” (2009), chairs, wood shavings, and sawdust, variable dimensions. Photo © Stéphane Thidet, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Aline Vidal
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-1af5715c72b0cc0bd5dd872749f42444.jpg)
“La Crue” (2010), poplar wood, nails, variable dimensions. Photo © Galerie Aline Vidal courtesy of the artist and Galerie Aline Vidal Collection MAC VAL
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-b77babbc690698eda46ba4f317dadf1f.jpg)
“Rideau” (2020), in situ installation at Théâtre Graslin, Nantes, France, water, pumps, pond installation in situ. Photo © Martin Argyroglo, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Aline Vidal
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-688c63def05b5e09052b9fc534dda18b.jpg)
“Sans titre (Je crois qu’il y avait une maison, il me semble y avoir vécu)” (2010), bookcase and white stones, 239 x 187 centimeters. Photo © Stéphane Thidet, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Aline Vidal Collection CNAP
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-0e9680f28fb473e64a96f67e6bc3797d.jpg)
“Il n’est pas de nouveau monde” (2023), wood and steel, 300 x 550 x 400 centimeters. Photo © Cité internationale de la langue Française, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Aline Vidal
#installation
#public art
#sculpture
#site-specific
#Stéphane Thidet
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