Internationally-acclaimed contemporary French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel is set to discuss and present his work at a public art talk today at the Fire Station Cinema, it was announced.
The artist, in collaboration with Qatar Museums (QM), is the man behind Cosmos, a new and impressive public art piece located at the Hamad International Airport. He visited the airport the other day to inspect his artwork.
QM is encouraging its Culture Pass members to come to the show, which will be moderated by the head of Public Art, Abdulrahman al-Ishaq.
According to QM, Cosmos is inspired by the oldest astrolabe in the world, found in the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art.
Cosmos is the latest addition to QM’s rich portfolio of public art pieces, all curated by experts and created by some of the world’s most creative minds.
Othoniel, who is best known for modernising the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles with his striking glass fountain sculptures, described his artwork as a monumental public art piece that reflects Qatar’s heritage and culture.
With a marked taste for metamorphosis, sublimation, and transmutation, Othoniel (born on January 27, 1964 in Saint-Etienne, now lives and works in Paris) shows a fondness for materials with reversible properties.
He started out, at the beginning of the 1990s, exhibiting his works at the Kassel documenta in 1992. A turning point in his output came the following year when he began employing glass.
Working with the finest glassmakers in Murano and Basel ever since, he explores the properties of a material that subsequently became a hallmark of his work.
These days, Othoniel’s work has an architectural dimension and the artist has permanent installations in public and private places all over the world.
Jean-Michel Othoniel
