Born in Bordeaux in 1957. Lives and works in Beynac
Self-taught, Dominique Rayou began sculpting at the age of 20. His first exhibition in 1981 won him the first prize for sculpture. Alternating materials with curiosity – wood, marble, bronze – her passion continues to grow, as does her mastery as her imagination unfolds. His patience, concentration and artistry are honed by carving directly into marble, a stone whose fragile nature he strives to tame, revealing its fascinating colors. His pleasure becomes his profession. He likes to surprise by giving matter a second life, by reinventing it. He prefers a dynamic, lively new harmony to the still lifes so familiar from art history.
His sculptures reflect a duality between the human and the abstract, the visible and the invisible, focusing on partial representations of the human body such as hands, arms and, above all, busts. His recent works explore the interplay of emotions, with an aesthetic concern honed by experience, inspiration and new techniques, notably in silver-chromed bronze, with a colorful patina that captures light in a unique way.
Dominique Rayou loves aesthetics as much as the thought that goes into creation, or the technique used to achieve her goal. Her patinas are extraordinary, with a richness and depth that no foundry patinist could achieve. At a time when many artists are outsourcing their work, Dominique Rayou does the chasing himself. The time he spends and the meticulousness he demonstrates are economically viable only for the enthusiast, the artist and the craftsman.
The result is a vast oeuvre of trompe l’oeil fruit, anamorphoses and titles, each more succulent than the last. Destinée, for example, is a marvellous illustration of Rayou’s sense of humour, as he presents a fruit as a woman whose destiny is to be eaten. Here again, sculpture is a pretext for indulging in technical pleasure. The chiselling of fine striations that reflect the light brilliantly to represent the moist flesh of the fruit. Or the oxidation on the edges, the grain on the skin… right down to the delicate attention to detail of leaving the tip of the stem in mirror-polished bronze to show that it is indeed bronze. In each of his works, there is the jubilation of the artist who takes infinite pleasure in working and making his sculpture as beautiful and relevant as he imagined it.
Exhibitions :
2025
Galerie Artima – Honfleur
Domaine de Montjoie – Ramonville Saint-Agne
Galerie Fine Arts selection – Arcachon
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
2024
Vlask Gallery – Gent – BE
Art Club Gallery – Paris
Art Club Gallery – Lyon
Galerie 713 – Knokke – BE
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
2023
Art Club Gallery – Lyon
Galerie 713 – Knokke – BE
Galerie Alain Daudet – Toulouse
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
Galerie Harmattan – Megève
Galerie Fine arts sélection – Arcachon
2022
Galerie 713 – Knokke – BE
Galerie Alain Daudet – Toulouse
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
Galerie Harmattan – Megève
Galerie Fine arts sélection – Arcachon
2021
Galerie 713 – Knokke – BE
Galerie Alain Daudet – Toulouse
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
Galerie Harmattan – Megève
Galerie Fine arts sélection – Arcachon
2020
Galerie Vladimir Rustinoff – Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Galerie 713 – Knokke – BE
Galerie Alain Daudet – Toulouse
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
Galerie Harmattan – Megève
Galerie Julien – Honfleur
Galerie Viviane Henwood – Les Sables-d’Olonne
2019
Summer exhibition – Galerie 713 – Knokke – BE
Galerie Vladimir Rustinoff – Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Personnal exhibition – Galerie Alain Daudet – Toulouse
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
Galerie Harmattan – Megève
E.D.A. gallery – Miami – U.S.A.
2018
Summer exhibition – Galerie 713 – Knokke – BE
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
Galerie Vladimir Rustinoff – Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Galerie Alain Daudet – Toulouse
Art Club Gallery – Paris
E.D.A. gallery – Miami – U.S.A.
2017
Personnal exhibition – Galerie 713 – Knokke – BE
Galerie Vladimir Rustinoff – Saint-Paul-de-
Art Club Gallery – Paris
2016
Château de Saint-Vitu – Tinlot – Galerie 713 – BE
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
Galerie Vecchiato – Padova – IT
Galerie Vladimir Rustinoff – Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Galerie ArTiane – Honfleur
Van Loon Galleries – Vught – NL
2015
Van Loon Galleries – Vught – NL
Galerie Vladimir Rustinoff – Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Galerie ArTiane – Honfleur
Galerie Harmattan – Megève
Galerie Viviane Henwood – Les Sables-d’Olonne
Galerie Briand – Royan
Galerie Sakah – Toulouse
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
2014
Personnal exhibition – Van Loon Galleries – Vught – NL
Galerie Briand – Royan
Galerie Vladimir Rustinoff – Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
Personnal exhibition – Galerie Sakah – Toulouse
2013
Galerie Sakah – Toulouse
Art Toulouse
Personnal exhibition – Galerie Magnanat – Sarlat
Personnal exhibition Sculpture – Galerie Het Depot – Wageningen – NL
Galerie Vladimir Rustinoff – Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Galerie De Médicis – Paris
2012
Galerie Van Loon & Simons – Vught – NL
Personnal exhibition – Galerie Sakah – Toulouse
Art Toulouse
Fondation Het Depot – Wageningen – NL
Galerie Vladimir Rustinoff – Saint-Paul-de-Vence
2011
Art Toulouse – Toulouse
Galerie Van Loon & Simons – Vught – NL
Salon d’automne de Colomiers
2010
Exhibition salle Victoire – Bruxelles – BE
Exhibition – Société Bleecker – avenue Georges V – Paris
Conseil général de l’Eure – Rouen
Gmac Bastille – Paris
Sculpture en liberté – Roquebrune-sur-Argens
2009
Gmac Bastille – Paris
Personal exhibition – Galerie Etienne – Oisterwijk – NL
Personal exhibition – Golf De l’Olivarie – Siorac
2008
Personnal exhibitions – Dubaï and Abou Dhabi – AE
Personal exhibition – Espace La Tour du Bourreau – Sarlat
SCULPTUUR – Group show – Oisterwijk – NL
2007
Galerie Etienne – Oisterwijk – NL
Galerie le Violon bleu – Tunis – TN
Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Tunis – TN
Conseil général de la Dordogne
2006
Galerie Patou fine art – Miami – USA
Galerie Etienne – Oisterwijk – NL
Galerie Briand – Royan
2005
Personal exhibition – 34 Champs Elysées – Paris
Personal exhibition – Galerie Etienne – Oisterwijk – NL
Group show Nouvelles acquisitions – Stichting Het Depot – Wageningen – NL
2004
Personal exhibition – Fondation Het Depot – Wageningen – NL
Permanent artist since 2004 – Fondation Het Depot
SCULPTUUR – Group show – Galerie Etienne – Oisterwijk – NL
2003
Personal exhibition – Fondation 15 square Vergennes – Paris
Galerie Etienne Van Den Dool – Oisterwijk – NL
2002
Personal exhibition – La Tour Grise – Verneuil-sur-Avre
2000
Personal exhibition – Orangerie du Sénat – Paris
Personal exhibition – La Tour Grise – Verneuil-sur-Avre
Personal exhibition – Galerie Magnanat – Sarlat
1999
Personal exhibition – Galerie Magnanat – Sarlat
1998
Gmac Bastille – Paris
1997
Personal exhibition – Galerie Heraud – Paris
GMAC Bastille – Paris
1996
Grand Marché de l’Art Contemporain – Bastille – Paris
Galerie Héraud – Paris
1995
Personal exhibition – Centre culturel de l’aérospatiale – Toulouse
Personal exhibition – Galerie Magnanat – Sarlat
1994
Personal exhibition – Galerie Héraud – Paris
Biennale de St Léonard de Noblat
1992
Personal exhibition – Hôtel de la Région Midi-Pyrénées – Toulouse
Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Toulouse
CREAC Centre Culturel Bonnefoy – Toulouse
Personal exhibition – Galerie Magnanat – Sarlat
1991
Personal exhibition – Galerie place des arts – Toulouse
Personal exhibition – Hôtel Capoul – Toulouse
1989
Foire d’art contemporain – Toulouse
1987
Salon Aura -Toulouse
1986
Salon d’automne – Grand Palais – Paris
Galerie d’art Orly ouest – Personal exhibition – Orly
Ambassade de France – Wien – AT
Personal exhibition – Centre Socio-Culturel – Brive
Personal exhibition – Galerie Auriel – Toulouse
1985
Salon d’Automne – Grand Palais – Paris,
Personal exhibition – Galerie Magnanat – Sarlat
1984
Salon d’automne – Grand Palais – Paris
Mairie d’Escalquens
1983
Personal exhibition – Galerie Auriel – Toulouse
1982
Mairie d’Escalquens
Salon des Méridionaux- Toulouse
1981
Salon des Méridionaux – Toulouse
Exhibition Fousseret
Awards and distinctions:
1981: 1st prize for sculpture Le Fousseret – Carbonne
1984: 1st prize for sculpture – Mairie d’Escalquens
1987: 1st prize for sculpture – Salon Aura – Toulouse
2011: 1st prize for sculpture – Salon d’automne de Colomiers
2013: 1st prize for sculpture – Art Toulouse
Public and private collections:
Hôtel de Région Midi Pyrénées – Ville de Sarlat
Ambassade de France – Wien – AT
Stichting Het Depot – Wageningen – NL
Fondation 15 Square de Vergennes – Paris
Musée d’Art Moderne – Tunis – TN