Julian Schwarz

After his training at the Slade School of Art in London, Julian Schwarz moved to France in 1990 to create his sculptures and woodcuttings.

Julian Schwarz makes monumental sculptures out of wood, intensifying their aesthetic through a lengthy sculpting process, at once sober and sensual. He is guided in his creative choices by the form and natural grain of the wood and its irregularities. Inspired by Romanesque art and its lack of artifice, Julian Schwarz creates “vessels”, combining a utilitarian dimension with the sculptural power of the wood.

Julian Schwarz begins with a sketch outlining his initial intentions. Working from undressed timber or half tree trunks, he enables the form to emerge from the raw wood. He transforms and hollows out the wood using traditional hand tools: large wood saw, axe, adze, gouge. Every piece is unique in its its curves and angles, a testament to his virtuoso craftsmanship.

His work is held in prestigious public and private collections such as the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Henry Moore Foundation, the Tate museum and the Victoria & Albert museum (engravings).