By Natalie Taylor
Thierry Job was born in Marseilles in La Cite Radieuse—the radiant city—an innovative complex created by architect Le Corbusier. The vertical village, with 337 apartments, was built after WWII when more housing was needed for families, and was quickly named La Maison du fada. Fada means crazy. With a smile, Thierry told me he spent the first year of life, with his parents and three older siblings, in this “crazy house,” now a UNESCO Heritage site. Thierry’s father remained in the army because it seemed the best option in post-war ravaged France. As an administrative officer, he was sent overseas in the 1950s when former French territories began to gain independence. When Thierry was four, the family moved to Somalia, and when he turned eight they moved again—this time to Algiers. He has fond memories of a happy childhood, recalling how he learned to swim in the Red Sea, buoyed by the heavy salt content of the water. He also credits his ability of “building things” to being surrounded by children who had no toys; they improvised and made things from scratch.
He grew up in a house “filled with culture,” with parents who loved the arts, and a father who was an accomplished musician. His father was not a typical military man, but a progressive who found himself doing a job he disliked to support the family. In an interesting aside, Thierry said that his father had told his sons: “The first of you who goes in the army—no inheritance!” They returned to Marseilles, but then life changed drastically when his father died in a plane crash. Thierry was thirteen, and his mother placed him in a boarding school, where he received an excellent education.
Thierry’s first career choice in college was Political science, which he hated. After a year, he clandestinely rode the train to Paris, took the rigorous entry exam of the school of Beaux Arts de Paris, and passed. He then returned to tell his mother he had enrolled at the school. During his time at the school of Fine Arts, he was not doing any sculpting, he was drawing. He then moved to Barcelona, married, and had a studio where he began doing sculptures. He lived in Spain for seventeen years, during which time he gained recognition as an artist, and had many expositions of his works. In 1982 he was named one of the most noteworthy artists of the time.
In 1991, after his first marriage was over, he met Carmen Almon, and they moved to New York. Their daughter Zoe was born there, and their time was spent earning a living. Thierry worked for an architect who commissioned him to do all sorts of objects for the home—from doors and furniture, to balconies and fountains. In the late 1990s they moved to France, to a small town in Bordeaux. Here, Thierry had a studio and time to return to sculpture.
When their daughter finished school, they moved to New Orleans, where both he and Carmen had several successful exhibits of their work. But in 2018 they moved once again, this time to San Miguel de Allende where they found a lovely home in San Rafael. This is where they have settled, with lots of space for both of their studios.
Thierry likes to work with hard surfaces—no modeling clay, or terracotta for him—he “doesn’t like the feel” of pliable surfaces on his hands. Instead, he uses resin, wood, or metal to craft his unique sculptures.
At present he is preparing for an exhibit in New Orleans—a joint show with his wife Carmen. The current sculptures are reminiscent of action figures, but he says he is dealing with archetypes. They take on a distinctive, idiosyncratic look informed by his imagination. “The Champion” is a triumphant athlete, arms above his head. The title on the blue figure is the existential question: “Are We Alone in the Universe?” Another, “The Ghost Writer,” an homage to a writer friend—is a horse rider with a written page as a shield. Asked about his philosophy, Thierry said: “To be always surprised, never blasé!”
Thierry’s works are in collections of The Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, in Barcelona, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. In 2020 he created a 40-foot, stylized take of a motorcar for the Packard Building in Detroit. You can see many of his works on his website: thierryjob.net or contact him at thierrylulazoe@gmail.com
Natalie Taylor: BA in English Lit and Journalism, Loyola University, Chicago, 1995. MFA in Creative Writing, Vermont College, Montpelier, VT, 1999. Published writer, editor, journalist. Spanish teacher in the US, English teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Translator. www.natalietaylor.org Contact: tangonata@gmail.com
