Roland Baladi

Roland Baladi's beautifully realized marble sculptures hover compellingly on the line between total illusionism and iconic symbolism. His use of marble for the replication of such common household objects as irons, toasters and radios affects us with a sense of dislocation that brings the objects he carves into focus at the same time that it alters our perception of them. Unlike many modern representationalist sculptors, Baladi is not invoking a material illusion. There is no question of mistaken identities with these objects: no confusing them with the real thing. This is not trompe l'Å“il sculpture. We are struck as much by their " marbleness " as by their recognizability. Our pleasure comes not from the artist's ability to deceive our eyes, but from the essential inappropriateness of the material to the form.

Marble, among all sculptural materials, is the most resonant of tradition - the least whimsical. The traditions this material evokes, from classical statuary to the sweeping classical curves of Arp, are more alive, and perhaps more oppressive for the Mediterranean artist, and it is probably no accident that Baladi, an Egyptian born artist, (his mother is Italian), should choose to both use and challenge these traditions....

EXPOS PERSO /ONE MAN SHOW 1971 "Cinetone" ARC Muse d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris1973 "Mur graffiti phmres" ARC, Paris.1973 "Machines se retrouver", Galerie ANNICK LE MOINE, Paris1976 "Bas relief solaire" Galerie de LA DEFENSE, Paris.1978 "FAREWELL PARTY", John Haines, New York.1979 "Le statue di Baladi", Galleria NAVIGLIO, Milan.1981 "O.K. HARRIS", New York. 1983 "O.K. HARRIS WEST", Scotsdale, Arizona.1983 "O.K. HARRIS", New York.1985"O.K. HARRIS" New York.1990 "MODERN STONE AGE" Gallery, New York.1992 "Rseau hertzien" Galerie" PASCAL PARADIS, Nice.1994 "Celles qu'on n'a pas faites", Galerie PASCAL PARADIS,2002 "Projets d'installation" , Galerie Pictura, Bourges. EXPOS DE GROUPE /GROUP SHOWS1972 "Nature et technologie" SIGMA Bordeaux1974 FIAC Bastille, Paris.1974 "Confrontation Video" ARC 2 Paris.1975 "Film foto video", Gallerie Fallazick, Steinkimmen, RFA.1976 "Exprience socio-cologique", ARC 2 Paris.1976 "Du point la ligne", Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.1977 Fondation Juan Miro, Barcelonne.1978 "Bas relief solaire" UNESCO, Paris.1979 "Espaces d'artistes", Forum des Halles Paris.1979 "Entracte" avec Robert Malaval, Katia Pissaro, Paris.1979 "Video" Museum Of Modern Art, New York.1980 "Art video/video Art", Nouveau Muse ,...