Alain Mailland
All images courtesy of the artist
All my work is based on the beauty of wood. I mainly use roots from my countryside because they are so colorful, and I need very fine burls to get these very fragile pieces. I consider that there is a correspondence between all the species living on Earth. For example, you can find animal or mineral shapes in roots and vegetable forms, and in stone or bones. We humans are linked with all things growing on the Earth. That is what I feel when I make my sculptures. These creatures seem to be alive, because I first turn growing shapes, like flower shapes. I reproduce the expansion of a flower or all circular structures that you can find in the universe. For me the birth of these objects is the incarnation of a dream.
Alain Mailland was born on the Ivory Coast and moved with his family back to France when he was five years old. From age twenty to twenty-two, he studied at the National Art School of Cergy-Pontoise. Although he worked as a mason and carpenter in building construction, it was not until he was twenty- eight that he took his first course in woodturning. In the early 1990’s, Mailland slowly changed his focus from interior carpentry to turning and has since done nothing but lathe work.
Mailland developed his own distinctive style and technique, particularly in hollowing. As his work matured, he continued learning, taking courses with other notable turners such as Andre Martel, Michael Hosaluk, and Terry Martin.
Works
Video
Video courtesy of The Wood Culture Tour Project designed by International Wood Culture Society(IWCS).
Museum Collections
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
Center For Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA
Coral Springs Museum, Coral Springs, FL
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Figge Art Museum, Davenport, OH
Foundation H 2000 Collection, France
Gallery Yamaguchi Collection, Japan
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
Musée des Pays de l’Ain, France
Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI