Creative Process

Historical and Conceptual Anchoring

The genesis of each work does not lie in a simple gesture, but in a deep questioning of its historical resonance. This initial phase relies on a rigorous immersion in museum collections, where masterpieces from the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay serve as aesthetic compasses. This dialogue with the masters of the past is combined with an intimate narrative: by taking members of his own family as models, the artist explores a living "lineage," connecting the specificity of a cultural history to the universality of the human condition.

From Clay to Digital: The Technical Bridge

The physical development of the work operates a bold fusion between ancient tradition and technological avant-garde. It all starts with clay: manual modeling that captures the psychological truth of the subject. This sculpted "soul" is then digitized using a 3D scanner.

In the virtual space, volumes are refined and scales transcended, before returning to the physical world via additive manufacturing. This process deploys high-precision 3D printing — using custom-built machines and recycled materials — to build monumental forms. These raw structures are then reworked by hand, with the artist reintroducing the human gesture to enrich the texture and the surface.

Materiality: Bronze and Alchemy

The final stage gives the work its durability and tangible "presence." Depending on the artist's vision, the sculptures are either cast in bronze using the ancestral lost-wax technique, or cold-metallized by incorporating crushed metals into a composite resin.

The process concludes with a true surface alchemy: the application of complex patinas. Through the fire of acids or the subtlety of cold pigments, Petrides creates unique textures that seem to bear the trace of time. Once completed and digitally archived, the piece becomes an immutable link between historical memory and contemporary expression.