Dessons, Pierre
France, 1936 - 2022
Pierre Dessons was born in Villiers-le-Bel, a suburb of Paris, and studied sculpture at the École des beaux- arts de Genève. His works were primarily made of wood but incorporated multiple elements, such as plastic, metal, recuperated objects and golden paint. His subjects formally approximated marionettes and were bent, or rather intertwined, in uncomfortable and often visceral ways. Lolita-like girls pursued and confronted by masked, often surreal, male characters were his frequent protagonists. He started exhibiting in Paris in 1965. His first solo exhibition was organized in 1979 in Aix-en-Provence In the 1990s he set aside sculpture and painting to dedicate himself to illustration, notably of children’s books. Pierre Dessons also experimented with animation and a medium of installation. His work is often attributed to Free Figuration movement.
