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ANTOINE DUFILHO

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It is at the intersection of two seemingly opposing worlds that the artist is born. Antoine Dufilho carries within him this unique heritage: on one side, the art passed down by his great-uncle, an actor, painter, and sculptor; on the other, the rigor of medicine and science. This duality shapes his perspective and fuels his creative process.As a child, Antoine was introduced to the visual arts in his great-uncle's studio. There, he discovered the creative process, the way matter takes shape, and the liberation of expression. These formative moments planted the seeds of a passion that was just waiting to blossom.

 

But the family legacy goes beyond the transmission of artistic skills. Between the Dufilho and Bugatti names, there is a connection forged by the passion of several men. Jacques, Antoine's great-uncle, had the good fortune to collect Bugattis. This passion for automobiles was passed on to Antoine's father, and naturally, the torch was passed to the next generation. This love for automobiles, combined with an artistic vision, instilled in Antoine a particular sensitivity to mechanical lines and forms. It is from this dual inheritance – art and a passion for automobiles – that his work as a sculptor would later emerge.

BIOGRAPHY

Driven by a curiosity about the mechanics of living things, Antoine began studying medicine. For three years, he immersed himself in anatomy, discovering the structures that support the human body and understanding how solids and voids interact to create movement. This scientific exploration taught him rigor and precision, but it also distanced him from his vital need to express his boundless creativity. The choice then became clear: Antoine turned to architecture.

 

This new path reconciles his two legacies. Architecture offers him both structure and freedom, technique and expression. It is in this discipline that he truly discovers sculpture from a new perspective. He becomes passionate about the framework of forms, about these architectural skeletons which, once stripped bare, reveal their very essence. This structural approach becomes the heart of his artistic language: a succession of solids and voids that bring lightness and dynamism to the overall form.A graduate of the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in Lille, Antoine takes a decisive step. In the countryside near Lille, he builds his studio from scratch using shipping containers. This space, which he shapes himself, becomes the stage for his experiments. Self-taught, he learns welding, perfects molding, and explores different techniques to gradually build the aesthetic of his art.

 

In 2012, he dedicated himself fully to sculpture. It was then that he decided to pay tribute to this family automotive heritage by creating his first sculpture of a Bugatti Type 37, one of the jewels that adorned the garage of his great-uncle Jacques. Working with aluminum, he developed his unique approach that captures the essence of legendary automobiles rather than their faithful reproduction.His work evolves over time and with inspiration. Little by little, his style asserts itself, becoming instantly recognizable: these forms that seem to defy gravity, these structures that capture movement, this alliance between the strength of the material and the elegance of the line. Antoine Dufilho does not simply create sculptures. He captures the very essence of his subjects– whether they are mythical automobiles or legendary aircraft. In each work, this essence shines through

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