Stephane Bolongaro
Stephane Bolongaro, (born 30th June 1963 in Nice), is a French plastic artist. His art is dedicated to humor, fashion, and fun art in particular. Based in Nice, Stephane is mostly known for his Jack Russel sculpture, Totor. But more GeneRally, his work revolves around futuristic cultures, animals, and fantasized women.
Stephane has worked with numerous renowned artists such as Mimmo Rotella, the Blue Man Group, Sacha Sosno or Arman.
Early life and career
Stephane Bolongaro was born in Nice and comes from a family of artists and businessmen. His grandfather, Léon Louis Charles Roux was a painter and the artistic director of the Monte-Carlo Opera from 1946 to 1964. He was his first and main source of inspiration. In his early age, Stephane is already detected as a special being, as his IQ test reveals a strong potential - 187 on the Stanford-Binet scale -. He starts drawing at 5 and already sells his draws in the streets. Stephane grows up and follows a classic French academic career, but art keeps being at the center of his world.
Stephane keeps pushing his passion for art, and the sculptures in particular. In 1991, Stephane collaborates with Sosno to produce the "Liberator's Monument", a giant sculpture exposed on the Ceva plateau to pay tribute to the "Dallas Lady", the Liberator plane which intervened on the 12th September 1944 and crashed into the mountain with eleven American aviators on board. The sculpture is erected in the Mercantour National Park.
Stephane works also with Arman on new realism, with accumulations works such as the "Stating of Housework" (2000) which is an accumulation of plates. Stephane is even a model for Arman in a self-portrait (2001) realized by the artist.
Simultaneously, Stephane drives his solo career as a sculptor. He defines his artistic world as "magical and playful", and entertains his inner child through his sculptures. He begins with what has always fascinated him: robots. He starts producing robots in 1999 and integrates into them objects of our daily life: televisions, Hi-Fi stereos,… Then, Stephane begins to carry his interest on fantasized women and represent them in enclosed areas to evoke their inaccessibility.
Stephane also realizes house decorations such as the "arm of light" (1999), a series of lamps (1999), "Surprise for the mother-in-law" (2000) and another sculpture called "scaling" (2002). Stephane keeps on with paintings with collages on wood. Later, Stephane dedicates his work to UFOs with pieces of art such as the "E.Tnerant traveler" (2006) or the "Cosmic Kiss" (2012).
Finally, Stephane comes up with a new sculpture inspired by the Jack Russel of his mom: Totor. Totor is a dog, generally leaning against a surface and looking at the viewer in a tender way. This sculpture exists in several dimensions, going from 30cm to 3 meters.
Recent expositions and Honors
Stephane Bolongaro has known notoriety recently by organizing several art exhibitions. The first one was in Miami in 2016 by inaugurating his Totor sculpture in front of the North Miami City Hall. On this occasion, Stephane Bolongaro has received the key to the City and has been made honorable Citizen of North Miami Beach. Totor is now exposed in front of the North Miami City hall over a lifetime.
Moreover, Bolongaro has exposed his work in France. A 3-meter Totor was present in front of the Coulée Verte in Nice in March 2017. The artist has also organized an art exhibition in Monaco in April 2017 with the exceptional presence of celebrities such as its Serene Highness Albert II, Prince of Monaco, Suzie Kennedy or Adriana Karembeu. Stephane Bolongaro is now expected to expose his work in Miami in September again, then the Miami Art Basel in December 2017 and in other cities such as Detroit, New York City or Washington D.C.
External links
http://www.stephanebolongaro.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQDMfsAsiwQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH7Z6fXTmAM
http://www.channelriviera.com/cr2/Article/5427/Stephane_Bolongaro_et_Totor_de_Nice_a_Miami
http://www.channelriviera.com/cr2/Article/5439/Totor_au_Musee_de_l_automobile_de_Monaco