PAUL GRELLIER 

Sculptor , installation artist and surreal tale fabricator - Paul Grellier creates his

work in a rural industrial studio near Stroud, Gloucestershire, where he has lived

for over 30 years since graduating BA FineArt from Chelsea College in 1988.

 

Much influenced by childhood ramblings in local woodland, dumps, farmyards

and fields - his creative impulse was enabled by a trove of surgical, engineering

and wood-working tools left by his eccentric twin great uncles Norman and

Bernard, who both died before he was born, but whose legacy and remarkable lives still inspire imagination.

 

Predominantly constructing using found materials of industrial and agricultural origin, as well as carving hardwood and stone, Grellier

contemplates many aspects of the human condition over its dogged evolution, inherent vanity and dubious behaviours.

 

                                                        His current project How much nonsense can I/You handle? involves an absurdist response to current                                                                  social issues - from conspiracy theories, fake news, identity and health issues , to war-mongery.

 

                                                         Grellier employs theatricality and humour in the presentation of his work, pushing credible narrative

                                                         into realms of bizarre fiction, sometimes performed under the guise of a straight forward artist’s talk.

 

                                                         The Artefact or Fiction?  construct ( Museum in the Park, 2016) has remained  a recurring theme in his                                                                practice, imbued both in physical form and underlying narrative.                                                                                                                               In fossilesque reliefs, incongruous tools and devices , or intricately carved stone walnuts -  all mystify and                                                           challenge credulity.                                                                                                  

 

 Whilst Grellier’s sculptures succeed individually, their reverberating and interconnected proposition can be further enhanced when curated within a specific situation or building, when he and they are in their element.

 

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