Chimney - Philolaos Tloupas

These molybdenum stainless steel sculptures (stronger than stainless steel), cover the real chimneys of bakeries and laundries. They have the aesthetic function of "camouflaging" these chimneys.

Philolaos presents two other artworks at La Défense: Les nymphéas [Water lilies] and L'oiseau mécanique [The mechanical bird].

Other artworks from the La Défense collection are also based on air vents:

• Mosaïque [Mosaic] and Vive le vent by Michel Deverne;
• Le Moretti by Raymond Moretti;
• Les Trois Arbres [The Three Trees] by Guy-Rachel Grataloup;
• Cheminée végétalisée [Vegetated chimney] by Édouard François;

A word about the artist

Born in Greece, Philolaos Tloupas (known as Philolaos) went to Paris in the 1950s where he studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. In 1963, the architect André Gomis proposed him to create a "sculpture-architecture" in Valencia and allowed him to discover the powers of urban aesthetics. He then became the sculptor of architects.

At the same time, a material opened up new possibilities for him and occupied an important place in his artwork: stainless steel. In particular, he uses its natural modularity to create shapes that escape geometry to better connect with nature. Pursuing a personal plastic artwork, Philolaos expresses himself on different supports: he uses among others terracotta, turned wood, smoothed marble, washed concrete.