- Sculi’s Artistic Education and Commitment

 

Sculi’s Artistic Education

Sculi, whose real name is Ulrich Jacquot-Préaux, has developed his artistic education primarily through self-teaching. His journey does not follow the traditional path of a fine arts school, but rather a personal research process that began at a very young age and has never ceased.

At the age of fourteen, in 1991, Sculi created his first work in stone. From 1992 onwards, he began independently learning to work with different materials and techniques, including stone, wood, metal, resin, light and sound. His artistic development was therefore built through direct experimentation, in the studio, but also through a constant observation of the world of art.

His education has been less about specializing in a particular technique than about continuously exploring new possibilities.

Sculi considers that one never stops learning through art. He regularly visits museums, exhibitions and galleries, observes artworks, studies the approaches of artists, and seeks to understand different artistic movements, their origins, their development and the ways in which they attempt to interpret the world.

For him, this is not about reproducing what he discovers, but about exploring the ideas underlying each artistic movement in order to understand their possibilities and their limits.

This permanent curiosity is an essential part of his artistic education. Every exhibition becomes an opportunity to learn; every artwork becomes an opportunity for questioning; every encounter opens the possibility of discovering another way of thinking about creation.

Interaction with other artists also occupies a central place in this approach. Sculi does not consider art to be an activity that should be practiced in isolation. He deliberately seeks dialogue, the confrontation of experiences, different perspectives and discussions about artistic practices.

The comments and reactions of visitors are also important to his thinking. His work is nourished by these encounters and exchanges. For Sculi, an artwork is not merely an object produced by an artist; it can become a meeting point between different thoughts, sensitivities and experiences.

His artistic statement describes art as a succession of journeys, intimate experiences, encounters and silent conversations with artworks, periods of history and their creators. He considers the observations of visitors to be a source of reflection that continually feeds his research.

The Creation of Galerie Rendez-Vous

This desire to continually encounter art and bring it into his own environment eventually led Sculi to take another step.

Rather than simply visiting places dedicated to art and meeting artists, he created his own place for artistic encounters.

In 2020, alongside his research into cosmology and his artistic practice, Sculi created Galerie d’Art Rendez-Vous, conceived not only as an exhibition space but also as a place for encounters, experimentation and research.

The gallery was developed through a substantial personal commitment. Renovation work began in January 2021 in a former agricultural building adjoining the artist’s studio. The project was initially financed by Sculi himself and subsequently supported by volunteers and donations. The renovation involved approximately 1,200 hours of work.

The first exhibition took place in August 2021, bringing together Sculi and painter Pascale Abadie in an exhibition devoted to animal art. The gallery subsequently developed into a collective artistic space, welcoming artists working in different disciplines and with different approaches.

Galerie Rendez-Vous therefore became a natural extension of Sculi’s artistic education.

He no longer simply goes out to museums, galleries and exhibitions to seek art: he creates a place where art can come to him.

Painters, sculptors, photographers, visual artists and creators working within different artistic approaches are invited to exhibit there. The gallery has developed exhibitions and artistic events that create opportunities for encounters between artists, artworks and audiences.

The gallery consequently represents much more than an exhibition venue. It is a space for experimentation, transmission, dialogue and the circulation of ideas.

It allows Sculi to confront his own research with that of other artists, while simultaneously contributing to the visibility and dissemination of their work.

This approach is deeply consistent with his conception of art: to learn by observing, to learn by meeting, to learn through dialogue, and to continue learning by welcoming others.

A Philanthropic Approach to Art

This commitment to sharing also leads to an important dimension of Sculi’s artistic identity: his philanthropic approach to art.

His philanthropy is not limited to financial donations. It is expressed through the time, space, resources and energy he devotes to artists, audiences and the wider dissemination of culture.

Creating and maintaining a gallery in order to give other artists the opportunity to exhibit is itself a form of artistic philanthropy. Sculi does not seek solely to develop his own artistic career; he also seeks to create opportunities for other creators.

The philosophy behind Galerie Rendez-Vous reflects this commitment. The association welcomes people who have a particular interest in art and creation and who wish either to participate voluntarily in its activities or to support artistic initiatives financially.

Sculi’s philanthropic commitment has also extended beyond the artistic community.

Several exhibitions and events associated with his work have included charitable initiatives. His public exhibition history records, for example, an exhibition in which 100% of sales proceeds were donated to the association “Jeunes pousses en devenir,” as well as other exhibitions where a proportion of sales was donated to local causes and associations.

This makes it possible to understand Sculi’s philanthropy as a philanthropy through art: using artistic creation, exhibitions, encounters and available resources to circulate culture, support other artists and, whenever possible, place art at the service of collective causes.

There is therefore a fundamental coherence between his artistic journey and his commitment to others.

The artist who initially had to build his own knowledge through continuous observation, experimentation and encounters now seeks to create conditions in which others can also transmit, exhibit and share their own artistic worlds.

An Artistic Education That Never Ends

Sculi’s artistic education cannot therefore be reduced to a period of training at the beginning of his career. It is a lifelong process.

He learns in his studio, but also in museums.

He learns in galleries, but also through exhibitions.

He learns from the great artistic movements of history, but also from contemporary artists whom he meets.

He learns through his own experiments, while remaining open to the possibility that another person’s perspective may challenge his own assumptions.

This attitude helps explain the significant evolution of his artistic practice over the decades.

After working with stone, wood and metal, his exploration expanded to resin, light and pigmentation, followed by increasingly conceptual and experimental research.

His biography describes, among other developments, the transition toward a conceptual approach from 1997 onwards, the development of the concept of the “invisible installation” in 2002, and the subsequent deepening of the philosophical and artistic relationships between his works.

His artistic education is therefore inseparable from his curiosity.

Sculi does not consider himself to have reached the end of his learning. On the contrary, he considers that every encounter, every exhibition, every artwork observed, every artist met and every exchange can open a new question.

Perhaps this is the idea that best summarizes his journey:

After learning by himself, he chose to create an environment in which he could continue learning from others — while, in turn, giving other artists a space in which they can be seen, heard and encountered.

Galerie Rendez-Vous can therefore be understood as the natural extension of his artistic education: a place where art is not merely exhibited, but where it circulates, confronts ideas, is transmitted and continues to generate new questions.

Conclusion

In this sense, Sculi’s artistic journey is not simply the story of a self-taught sculptor.

It is the story of an artist who has made curiosity, encounter, experimentation, sharing and transmission fundamental components of his artistic education.

 

- Manifesto of Cosmomorphism