Pierre Yermia

Great Arms Raised Standing Figure I (contemporary bronze sculpture)

2010

Since his debut on the Paris art scene in 1990, Pierre Yermia has received considerable acclaim for his contemporary bronze sculptures depicting dreamlike human forms and animal bodies. Yermia’s visually arresting figurative and nude sculptures are characterized by voluminous torsos and slender, elongated limbs that seem to stretch with gravity and vertical movement.

Born in 1964 in Suresnes, France, Yermia attended the School of Fine Arts in Toulouse from 1982 to 1984, where he studied under sculptor Aroldo Zavaroni. From 1984 to 1988, he continued his studies at the School of Fine Arts in Paris.

“My work is a constant quest for an unlikely and precarious moment of equilibrium, where strength and fragility are simultaneously confronted,” he has stated. For instance, in Yermia’s 3 Standing Figures V, three human figures are represented with willowy forms while leaning into a harmonious balance. In Feline VI, the sleek, bronze figure of a wild cat represents “a pure moment of grace, of balance, in which you feel both the frailty of the living . . . and its force.”

Critics have lauded Yermia’s works, which have won several awards. He won the Lauriers Wiso Sculpture Award in 1990, the Vermeille Medal from the Lutèce Internationale Academy in 1991, the City of Ernée Award in 2000, the City of Charenton Lions Club Award in 2011, the City of Charenton’s Award in 2016 and the Sculpture Prize at the 67th Salon de Charenton in 2020. He regularly presents his work in exhibitions throughout France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of modern Pierre Yermia sculptures.