Julien Guarneri

Contemporary sculptor Julien Guarneri creates works driven by a rigorous pursuit of balance. His stainless steel sculptures, sometimes combined with concrete, explore the relationships between lines, volumes, masses, and weight, through a refined minimalist language.

Julien Guarneri: in search of sculptural balance

Born in Saint-Étienne in 1979, Julien Guarneri developed an early fascination with materials, mechanisms and technical craftsmanship. Trained in mechanics before devoting himself entirely to sculpture from 2010 onwards, he now creates a unique body of work in which technical mastery, the pursuit of balance and the poetry of form come together.

The artist has developed a minimalist sculptural language based on the pursuit of the essential. Balance is the guiding principle of his approach and is expressed not only in the relationships between masses, lines, and volumes, but also in the interplay of interlocking forms, tension, and stability. Many of his abstract sculptures are composed of distinct elements that fit together or balance each other. This dynamic relationship between the different volumes, made possible by their mobility, is central to the identity of his work.

Architecture as a source of inspiration

Contemporary architecture is Julien Guarneri’s primary source of inspiration. Walks through construction sites and unfinished buildings provide him with a constant source of visual exploration. In everyday contexts where our gaze usually does not linger, the artist seeks out the understated beauty of architectural details, structural tensions, lines of force, and the interplay of proportions. These observations continually enrich his perspective, serving as a wellspring of forms and ideas for his creations.

“Architecture occupies a significant place in my life. My own personal playground is being able to walk around buildings under construction and visit construction sites. I see lines, shapes, shadows… I see works that already feel complete. For me, architecture is truly an escape that allows me to find a kind of freedom.” — Julien Guarneri

Materials that reflect purity

Stainless steel has gradually become Julien Guarneri’s material of choice. Initially perceived as a cold material, the sculptor came to appreciate its true nobility as he continued to work with it. Stainless steel allows him to achieve a high degree of purity in his work, without artifice or embellishment: sanding, light, and the intrinsic qualities of the metal alone are enough to reveal the sculpture. Its durability and resistance to the elements also make it an ideal material for his monumental works.

More recently, concrete has enriched his artistic vocabulary, reflecting his interest in contemporary architecture. The combination of concrete and stainless steel creates a dialogue between different textures, weights, and densities, giving rise to new challenges of balance that fuel his sculptural approach. In fact, it was his work with concrete that led Julien Guarneri to explore solid forms, an exploration he continues today with stainless steel as well.

The technique: from drawing to solid and hollow forms

Technical mastery plays a central role in Julien Guarneri’s work. Inherited from his early training in mechanics, this background allows him to approach sculpture with great freedom while maintaining a high standard of precision. Over the years, his creative process has gradually become more refined: intuition has given way to a more structured approach, informed by drawing. Each sculpture begins as a drawing, before being developed and adjusted in three-dimensional space.

The artist works using two complementary approaches. The first involves creating hollow forms by cutting and then welding together sheets of stainless steel. The second explores solid forms created from massive blocks of steel cut with a saw. All small- and medium-scale works are designed to be scaled up to monumental proportions. For Julien Guarneri, this change in scale represents the ultimate challenge of his practice, from design and fabrication through to transporting and assembling the work on site.

Exhibitions, awards, and art fairs

Since 2015, Julien Guarneri has exhibited regularly at art fairs and in solo and group exhibitions, primarily in France but also in Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. His growing recognition was notably acknowledged in 2019 when he was awarded the Silver Medal for Sculpture at the Salon des Beaux-Arts, held at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.