Born in Limoges, France in 1952, Jean-Marie Fiori graduated from École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris and received a Masters in Fine Arts from Paris Vincennes VII. Prior to delving into sculpture, he worked for years as a painter of decorative interiors specializing in fresco and trompe l’oeil. He is currently based in Paris. Animals are Fiori’s primary subject matter, which he crafts from carved alabaster, marble, and cast bronze. He first became recognized for his charming painted alabaster animal busts, which delighted collectors and graced the pages of numerous art and design magazines. Humorous and original, Fiori’s charismatic pieces showcase his command of decorative arts techniques honed over several decades, and complement a range of different interior styles. His bronze furniture works of recent years, issued in signed editions, fuse sculptural details and figurative elements into extraordinary decor pieces with elegant clean lines and whimsical appeal. The fantastical creatures of Fiori’s imagination recall early zoological studies such as medieval bestiaries and Aristotle’s Historia Animalium, where observations of animal life merge with art and philosophy in poetic reverie. Fiori has done several large public commissions, including Tour aux Bêtes on the island of Mallorca in 1997, Dolmen de Serris for the town of Marne-la-Vallée in 1999, a series of zodiac figures for the Paris Mint in 2000, and outdoor sculptures interpreting traditional Chinese animal symbols by invitation of the Chinese Official Committee of the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010. He was awarded the Edouard-Marcel Sandoz prize in 2009 and exhibited at the Museum of Boulogne in 2012. Fiori’s work is found in numerous private collections internationally and has been shown at art fairs including PAD Paris Art + Design, Masterpiece Fair in London, and Universal Expo in Shanghai. His work has been featured in many publications, including Architectural Digest, Art & Antiques, Beaux Arts, Le Figaro, and Antiques Chicago.
