Jean-Michel DEBILLY

Born in Lyon in 1964, Jean-Michel Debilly is an architect of shadow and light. After training in stone engraving with Jean-Claude Lamborot at the scriptorium in Toulouse, he collaborated with the Lyon sculptor Gabriel Gouttard. Jean-Michel Debilly enjoys working with wear and erosion, creating landscape sculptures inspired by nature, caves, quarries, and cliffs. His works are found in numerous public and private collections in France and abroad.

"My sculptures are intimate; I want everyone to be able to appropriate them, to touch them, to project themselves onto them, to grasp their different facets, and to contemplate the constantly changing areas of shadow and light according to the shifting skies."              Jean-Michel Debilly

“As an architect of shadow and light, the artist refers to his works as "landscape sculptures." They do not immediately reveal themselves to the viewer. One must take the time to contemplate them, project oneself onto them, traverse their shadowy areas to enter into their light. To tame them so they can fully reveal their complexity. Despite his preferred material being stone for many years, the sculptor regularly returns to wood. Regardless of the material used, the pursuit remains constant. The volumes are simple, the forms basic. His sculptures are constructed through hollowing out, generating complex interior spaces. More than the material, Jean-Michel Debilly seeks to sculpt the void”.                Sylvie Callet, writer

Exhibitions:
2023: Art Project – Lyon
2023: Les Chemins d’art – Exhibition of monumental sculptures in Poleymieux-au-Mont-d’or – Rhône
2022: Salon Comparaisons – Paris
2017-2018-2019-2022: Salon du Sud-Est – Lyon
2021: Rencontres et Regards – Lodz, Poland
2020: Salon Comparaisons – Paris
2019: Musée du Patrimoine de Trévoux – Ain
2018: Carrefour des Arts – Lalouvesc, Ardèche
2015: Salon Réalités nouvelles – Paris
2014-2016-2021: Art Fareins – Biennale of monumental sculpture – Fareins, Ain
2011: Collective Exhibition "Pretext" - Berlin, Germany
1999: Fort du Bruissin – Francheville, Rhône
1991: Parc de Mably – Loire
1989-1991-1993-2017: Salon of contemporary art in Albigny – Rhône
1991: Salon d’automne – Paris
1999: Mapra – Lyon, Rhône

Symposiums:
2021: Art-Fareins Sculpture Symposium
1995: Roanne Sculpture Symposium
1990: Val de Saône Sculpture Symposium