Biographie
Du rêve à la matière, reconstruire le monde.
Etienne Rougery-Herbaut est un artiste dont la pratique mêle photographie et installations.
Formé en histoire de l'art et ayant travaillé pendant sept ans en tant que chargé de production pour l’artiste JR, il s'est progressivement éloigné de la photographie documentaire pour se consacrer à une œuvre plus personnelle, nourrie par l’observation de ses rêves.
Depuis 2020, la photographie se met au service d’installations poétiques et minimalistes. Les rêves deviennent des installations concrètes, des objets photographiés qui questionnent notre rapport au temps et à la mémoire.
Les œuvres des nouvelles séries sont composées de matériaux bruts et d’éléments naturels. Le vocabulaire est simple : échelle, porte, rideaux, table, chaise, mais toujours situé ; plage, mer, désert. Le paysage, à la fois décor et sujet, invite à la rêverie, à la contemplation.
À travers ses installations, Etienne Rougery-Herbaut explore l'union des contraires, où le réel et l'imaginaire, le quotidien et l'onirique se rencontrent.
Le travail de l’artiste a été présenté à Los Angeles et Paris. En 2021, l’Échelle, son installation éphémère réalisée en mer Méditerranée est exposée au Château La Coste. Etienne Rougery-Herbaut fait voyager l’échelle dans le désert du Sahara pour sa nouvelle exposition Passage, qui se tiendra du 9 au 19 janvier 2025 à Paris.
From the depths of his dreams, Etienne Rougery-Herbaut reconstructs the world.
An artist whose practice seamlessly intertwines photography and installations, Rougery-Herbaut draws upon his training in art history and his seven-year tenure as a production manager for the renowned artist JR. He has gradually transcended the realm of documentary photography, embarking on a deeply personal exploration inspired by the rich tapestry of his dreams.
Since 2020, photography has emerged as a vessel for crafting poetic and minimalist installations. In this transformative process, dreams materialize into tangible works—photographed objects that provoke contemplation on our intricate relationship with time and memory. The pieces in his recent series are composed of raw materials and elemental forms. The lexicon is deliberately simple: ladder, door, curtains, table, chair—yet these objects are thoughtfully positioned within distinct settings: beach, sea, desert. Here, the landscape serves both as backdrop and subject, inviting a sense of reverie and introspection.
Through his installations, Rougery-Herbaut delves into the delicate interplay of opposites, where the real converges with the imaginary, and the quotidian dances with the dreamlike.
His work has graced the stages of galleries in Los Angeles, and Paris. In 2021, L'Échelle, his ephemeral installation in the Mediterranean, was unveiled at the Château La Coste. Now, Rougery-Herbaut is poised to transport L'Échelle to the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert for his forthcoming exhibition, Passage, set to unfold in Paris in January 2025.
Exhibitions
2021 L’ECHELLE, Château La Coste, Aix-en-Provence, France
2019CORNERSTONE, Brannan Manson Gallery, Art district, Los Angeles
HANDMADE, Joseph Gallery , Paris
2018GLEASON GLOVES, Madeleine Gallery, Paris
2017ELLIPSE, Léon Beaubourg Space, Paris
Selected Press
Une échelle en Méditerranée, Cique TV, by Athony Cheylan, December 2021
L’art accessible à tous, Interview, L’Echelle exhinition, Arab News, December 2021
Cornerstone : Etienne Rougery-Herbaut and Samdi, Cultural french ambassy in the USA, March 2019
Art Gallery and focus on social impact, by Lisa Beebe, Cartwheel art Magazine, March 2019
New DTLA Gallery Opens its doors and minds, by Shana Dambrot, LA Weekly, February 2019
A Timeless portrait of the many splendored faces of New York, text by Miss Rosen, Feature shoot, February 2019
Visual exploration of memory, by Emma Bubola, Fisheye magazine, June 2017