The Dance of Steel: Pascal Cléry’s Journey Through Form and Motion

Pascal Cléry’s journey as an artist is anything but conventional. Born on September 19, 1964, in the Nordic region of France, Pascal moved to the Alpes de Haute Provence at the age of 12 due to health concerns. This early change in scenery, paired with a natural curiosity, seems to have shaped his lifelong attentiveness to his surroundings.

Pascal’s fascination with mechanics and the workings of equipment began in childhood. He grew up surrounded by questions—how things function, how they’re put together, and how they can be taken apart. This intrigue wasn’t just about understanding the physical processes but also about reimagining them. It was the foundation for a creativity that would later manifest in his art.

Pascal has lived several lives. His early career spanned automobiles and industry, where he cultivated a deep understanding of precision and machinery. Later, his focus shifted to osteopathic care, a field that brought him closer to the human body and its intricacies. These diverse experiences would converge in his art, creating a unique blend of technical skill and human expression.

His journey into sculpture began with a dream. One night, he dreamt of sculpting his wife’s body, and by morning, the vision had sparked something extraordinary. Armed with stainless steel—a material as durable as it is challenging—Pascal began to sculpt. His early works captured bodily forms, their contours and expressions rendered in the reflective, unyielding surfaces of 316L stainless steel.

The medium itself is central to Pascal’s work. Stainless steel, with its industrial associations, might seem cold or impersonal, but in Pascal’s hands, it becomes something vibrant. The material catches light, reflects its surroundings, and seems to pulse with energy. His sculptures are more than objects—they are dynamic presences, full of movement and life.

Pascal’s themes are broad but interconnected. Bodily expression, animal forms, and automobiles all feature prominently in his work. These subjects may seem disparate, but they share a common thread: motion. Whether it’s the curve of a human spine, the poised tension of an animal, or the streamlined form of a car, Pascal captures the essence of movement. His sculptures invite viewers to consider how things flow, shift, and transform.

Pascal’s background in mechanics gives him an edge. His understanding of how materials behave under stress, how they can be manipulated, and how they interact with their environment allows him to push the boundaries of what stainless steel can do. At the same time, his time in osteopathy informs his attention to detail in human and animal forms. The result is work that feels both precise and alive.

Now based in Bandol, France, Pascal continues to create sculptures that reflect his wide-ranging interests. His work is a testament to the intersection of imagination and technical expertise. Each piece is a dialogue between the rigidity of his material and the fluidity of his ideas. It’s this tension that makes his sculptures compelling—they are at once mechanical and organic, industrial and intimate.

What sets Pascal apart is his ability to infuse a traditionally industrial material with emotion. His sculptures are not static displays but experiences. They invite viewers to move around them, to see how light and shadow play across their surfaces, and to reflect on the themes they evoke. Whether it’s the grace of a dancer, the power of an animal, or the sleek lines of a car, his work captures the beauty of movement in a way that feels almost poetic.

Pascal Cléry’s art is deeply personal, shaped by his experiences and the world around him. Yet, it resonates on a universal level. His sculptures remind us of the connections between the mechanical and the organic, the practical and the imaginative. In his hands, stainless steel is not just a medium—it’s a language, one that speaks to the rhythms and motions of life itself.

For Pascal, art is more than a career—it’s a way of seeing and interpreting the world. His journey from the Alpes de Haute Provence to Bandol, from industry to art, is a testament to the power of curiosity and reinvention. Through his sculptures, he invites us to see the extraordinary in the everyday, to find grace in metal, and to marvel at the interplay of form and movement.