Carlos Regazzoni

[English translation by Nina]

An irreducible artist defies the City Hall of Paris

“Paris, Ville Lumière, capital of Arts and Humans Rights, has put my lights off!”, the sculptor, Carlos Regazzoni, rises in rebellion.

Since June the 28th, the Halle Pajol, this redundant warehouse of the Gare de l'Est (Eastern Train Station of Paris), situated in the XVIIIth arrondissement, is driven into the black.

This first coercive decision, initiated by the SNCF and the French Railways Authority, former financial backers of Carlos Regazzoni during ten years, aim to throw the Argentinian artist out of his home. The City Hall of Paris, the new owner of the industrial waste area since December 2004, has just registered the renovation and the readjustment of the ZAC Pajol, in a large project, which seems to ignore the work of Carlos Regazzoni.

A huge work of art assembled by an enormous sculptor comparable to the oversized characters of Rabelais. It is composed of more than 2500 sculptures, made out of railways materials - such as metal installations weighing several tons -, set up and exhibited under a glass canopy of a 3000 square meters old building, built by Gustave Eiffel.

Some visitors speak of “a fantasy museum”, others of “a children's room inhabited by a giant”, of “a film set straight out of a Tim Burton's movie”, furthermore of “the ogre's den in "Jack and the Beanstalk"”. "Veaux, vaches, cochons, crocodiles"... The insane bestiary and the life-sized aircrafts created by Carlos Regazzoni attract dozens of visitors every day. They come spontaneously in his workshop, give assistance and support to this person, considered to be a genius by some of them.

A genius perhaps, but especially a very fertile artist, equipped with strong future prospects, besides all that, a man of 61, wounded in his heart, but firmly convinced to struggle against “a powerful and blind administration”.

The Gauls in Asterix were afraid, the sky would fall on their heads. Carlos Regazzoni, on the contrary, has only one worry: that all his work of art could be destroyed.

A risk, which can hardly be excluded.

• GALLERY (with captions)

• SLIDESHOW (without captions)



© Cyril Cavalié