Since the 1960s, the Milan-based artist
@franco_mazzucchelli has challenged conventional ideas of sculpture, trading marble and clay for air and thin sheets of plastic. In Biarritz, France, the gallery
@champlacombe recently debuted a solo show of his work, anchored by an inflatable white chain that twists through the exhibition’s main room alongside smaller wall hangings and archival photos and videos documenting his public installations from the early 1970s. A vital element of Mazzucchelli’s practice has always been its relationship to the surrounding environment and, on April 26, the exhibition extended into the city with a silver diamond-shaped sculpture floating in the fishing port. The following day, a large, translucent tunnel was installed among the trees at Villa Natacha, Biarritz’s historic estate. Visitors were invited to wander inside the structure, immersing themselves within its bubble-like plastic form for a fittingly experimental encounter. “Art, for me, has always been an exchange, even before a physical object,” Mazzucchelli told the Italian art publication Finestre sull’Arte last year. The show is on view at Champ Lacombe through June 14.
Written by
@mackenzieoster . Pictured here:
“Bicono Specchiante” (2026) at Port des Pêcheurs, Biarritz. Courtesy of Champ Lacombe
“Riappropriazione” (2025) at the Villa Natacha gardens, Biarritz. Courtesy of the artist and Champ Lacombe, Biarritz/London. © Trevor Lloyd
“Catena N.5 Anelli” (2024) and “Cono Rosso” (2024) at Champ Lacombe, Biarritz. Courtesy of Champ Lacombe