Sacha Sosno

Sacha Sosno


Alexandre Joseph Sosnowsky, (1937 – 3 December 2013), better known by his name Sacha Sosno, was an internationally renowned French sculptor and painter. Working most of the time in Nice, in the last decades he has achieved international recognition for his monumental outdoor sculptures in Côte d'Azur, France. He is a part of the New Realist (Nouveau réalisme) movement with the greats: Yves Klein, Arman and Cesar. Sosno has a singular artistic approach: the concept of obliteration. His sculptures are masked by empty or full space, inviting the viewer to use his own imagination.

Sosno was born in Marseilles. His father was Estonian and mother from France. Sosno spend his childhood in Riga (Latvia). During World War II his family manage to escape to Switzerland and later to France. Sacha began painting in 1948 when he was inspired by his neighbour Henri Matisse but stopped in 1956. In 1958 he studied in Paris (political science & oriental languages), followed courses at the Law Faculty and at the Cinema Institute at the Sorbonne. In 1961 went back to Nice and founded the magazine Sud Communications (Southern Communication) where he published his first theory of the "School of Nice". Shortly afterwards, he started his long friendship with Martial Raysse. In the 60s after Military service in Toulouse and work in the press as a war reporter in Ireland, Bangladesh and Biafra Sacha Sosno returned to painting. In 1974 he sold his art studio in Paris to cross the Atlantic by sailboat. Three years later returned to France to make his first sculpture: obliterated cars. In 1983 - important one-man show at the Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret in Nice. The year to follow - first one-man show in the United States at the Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The Galerie Beaubourg in Paris commissioned one of his works in 1986. 1986–1988: Developed several projects which associates sculpture and architecture, e.g. Hotel Elysée Palace with architect Georges Margarita, a 28-meter high work, including a 19-meter high bronze and 420 tons of granite. 1989–1990: Four one-man shows in the U.S.: Miami, West Palm Beach, Sarasota and Tampa. In the 90s he set up his workshop on the heights of Nice where he plants vines and olive trees. In the last decades many important international exhibitions were held in France, Russia, China and Italy. His most recognizable work is "Tête Carrée" (square head building) library in Nice, France in 2001 with architectures: Yves Bayard, Francis Chapus.

Sosno's work has been termed l'art d'oblitér or the ‘art of obliteration’ as a result of his idiosyncratic voids or solids added to an artwork, which obliterate or distort the full picture or figure. Thus giving the viewer the task of imagining what is absent: "I only do 50% of the work; other people have to finish creating the sculpture". His pieces frequently display either the absence of material or an obstructing addition. For example in Tete aux quatre vents femme Sosno removes sections of the bronze work, leaving holes where the face, ears and back of the head ought to be. This requires the audience to use its imagination in constructing the full image. Sacha Sosno's

Sacha Sosno
Sosno art gallery building is created by the joint venture of Lithuanian architect Rytis Daukantas and French sculptor Sosno. Artist Sacha Sosno is well known for ‘distorted ‘or ‘unfinished’ sculptures and paintings. The missing gap is left for the viewer’s imagination. The art by Sosno is half finished. The other unfinished work depends on the imagination of people.

He’s has begun his giant scheme of outdoor sculptures in the Côte d’Azur, France recently with Rytis Daukantas Lithuania based architect. The Sosno Art focuses on a saying that you must remove your own log before looking at others eye’s splinter. The ‘log’ here is provided with wood containing four art galleries. This can be accessed through a central stair of the building. Construction having girders and beams fixed in one end will hold the ‘log’ in place.

SOSNO’s “La paille dans l’œil du voisin” an inhabited sculpture is of six hundred square meters and twenty two meter tall structure having gallery space. It consists of souvenir store, conference hall, multimedia room and other amenities. The art gallery building is arranged in six floor plates. The wooden beam meets at the point of bust. The structure is a mixture of fine art and absurdity. It is built exclusively for handicapped persons.

Sacha Sosno, French contemporary art sculptor has been working in Nice. He has got international recognition for monumental sculptures in Côte d’Azur, France. His remarkable work is Library in Nice in the 1980s. Many International exhibitions were held in France, Russia, China and Italy. He has been working on projects in Abu Dhabi, Moscow, and Shanghai.