LARA ESTOPPEY & OLIVIER ESTOPPEY

Au Chemin ferré

Reinforcing bars, braided iron wire

A large iron horse stands sheltered beneath the trees. Yet when viewed from different angles, its outline loses definition, becoming less a specific horse than a condensed image of all the horses we have ever seen – in real life, in paintings and in cartoons. Its raised head suggests the untamed freedom of wide-open spaces, yet it remains hemmed in by the surrounding trees. That same tension runs through the park itself, which alternates between open vistas and, as here, more confined spaces.
As sunlight passes through the branches overhead, it plays across the horse’s body and scatters abstract, dappled patterns onto the ground. Despite the sculpture’s imposing size, it is surprisingly discreet, blending into its luminous surroundings thanks to its open structure.
Au Chemin ferré is a collaborative piece by Olivier Estoppey and his daughter Lara, who have worked together for around 15 years. It combines the raw physicality of Olivier’s sculptural output with Lara’s delicate wire structures, producing an end result that sits somewhere between the two.

Lara Estoppey (CH, b. 1983*) and Olivier Estoppey (CH, b. 1951*) live and work in Switzerland.