Patrick Saytour

Patrick Saytour was born in Nice, France, in 1935 and died in Aubais in 2023.  

As a member of the Support/Surface group, Patrick Saytour took a critical and deliberately marginal approach to art. His work seeks to deconstruct form, color, format, and conventional modes of presentation. He approached art through a kind of theatrical parody, using simple materials and rudimentary techniques such as folding and unfolding, burning, soaking, and exposing materials to sunlight.   

At Atelier Calder, Saytour created a series of sculptures from ship chains salvaged from the Saint-Nazaire shipyards. He transformed this heavy material into flowerpots, baskets, canes, and other everyday objects, enlarged to monumental proportions. Both decorative and functional, the sculptures explored the flexibility of the chains, which, despite their weight, could be reshaped into unexpected forms. Blending into their surroundings, they took on an almost delicate quality.