Catherina Laugel

I was born in Paris (France) in 1962 and lived there most of my life until I moved to Germany in 1991. In 1993, I came to London (U.K.) where I have been living ever since. I am a self-taught sculptor. When I came to London I spent several months working in an art foundry to learn the technics of mould making, bronze casting and metal patination.
		I had a solo exhibition at Limehouse Gallery in London in December 1996 and in 1997 I exhibited in Paris at the Gallery Herrouet. In 1998 and 1999 my sculptures were displayed in Jean-Christophe Novelli's restaurants EC1 and Maison Novelli in London.
"The body is most of all the mirror of the soul and from there comes its beauty" "To be moved, to love, to hope, to shake, to live, this is the the main thing. To be first a human being, then an artist" These two quotes from Auguste Rodin sum up rather well where I draw my inspiration from: an exacerbated love for the human body and the many feelings it conveys as well as my own experience.
		This love for the human body probably goes back to my childhood when I attended ballet classes for many years. I unfortunately did not become a "petit rat de l'Opéra" (this is how you call the young children trained at the Paris school of ballet!) but I have remained very fond of classical ballet and contemporary dance.
Another reason for my attraction to sculpting is the fact that sculptures are present everywhere in Paris: as ornaments to the buildings of the past centuries, or as full standing sculptures in the many parks, museums, churches...
		Today, I like to use my sculptures as a way of choreographing my own ballets just like a choreographer would use the body of a dancer to provoke an emotion, a reaction from the spectator. I draw from the movement of the body, the tensions in the muscles, the intensity of a static pose or of an equilibrium to bring out sensuality or despair, strength or fragility, while trying to express a feeling of harmony and beauty. I charge them with my own emotional power.
"Motions, Emotions" was the title of my first solo exhibition in December 1996 and could also be used to describe what my work is all about, whether representing ballet dancers, simple human figures or my own inner feelings.
		I react to people's movements, to the beauty of their gestures, to their interaction with others and my sculptures attempt to capture these fugitive emotions. I am also attentive to my own feelings as a precise moment, my own relationship to my body as a human being and as a woman.
While sculpting, my aim is primarily to feel and try and convey these feelings through my work. I therefore do not work, unlike many artists, with life models, but rather concentrate on transcending my feelings and channelling them through my work., simply relying on my knowledge of the human anatomy to replace the life model.