About Lionel

"I was born on a Tuesday in November 1966, the 15th of the month, in Boston, Massachusetts, to my French parents—dad, Victor, from Tunis, and mom, Lydie, from Casablanca (her mother was French and her father Corsican). I was the third son, though the first born in the United States. My two older brothers were born in Paris—Jean Jacques and Eric, who were both very influential in my life. Eric, being an artist himself, used to take me to art openings in Paris during the early to mid-80s. That was my introduction to the art world.

To be honest, we mostly went for the booze and the food. I was a teenager, and he, three years older, was a writer and philosopher who knew how to work a room. It was a fun time. The 90s arrived before I saw them coming. I found myself back in the country I was born in—the United States—speaking English like an exchange student, even though I was a U.S. citizen. I bounced around from San Francisco to LA to New York City and Las Vegas. I eventually settled in New York for about five years, where I worked for Devon Dikeou, a now renowned conceptual artist. She was already seasoned when I started working with her and became a wealth of knowledge and experience for me.

After that, I moved to Las Vegas in search of my next chapter. In Las Vegas, I applied my skills as a woodworker, restoring art and antiques. Working with antiques broadened my understanding of wood, as I restored ancient furniture, hutches, and cabinets. The detailed craftsmanship I learned then became invaluable to my future as an artist. However, Las Vegas also came with distractions—partying and an exploration of drugs and alcohol that quickly turned into addiction. I lost my business and was once again searching for direction. My girlfriend at the time suggested we take a vacation to Mexico. What was meant to be a getaway turned into my home for the next year. She eventually returned to Portland for work, but I stayed, doing odd jobs. Something magical happened there—I got clean and sober for the first time, and it stuck. It became a turning point in my life.

After a year in Mexico, I moved to Corsica, where my mother still lives, to reconnect with family and my roots. When I arrived in Loriani a small village of seven people, I quickly realized it was nearly impossible to find work. A blessing in disguise, as my dad stepped up and paid my expenses for the next two years. This gave me the time to fully dive into my art, particularly sculpture, and to explore wood in depth. This was the first time I created art solely for myself. I couldn’t afford wood, so I went to the mountains to collect deadwood—chestnut and pinion—focusing not only on the wood’s shape but also its weight, as I had to carry it home myself. I created both 3D and 2D sculptures, including seven key pieces: a horse, snakes, a Native American with a mohawk, the angry preacher man, a piece called “Peace,” “The Scream,” and others—works that marked my early artistic period. From Corsica, I returned to the U.S., settling in New Mexico. I started out in Taos, where I spent four years.

It took me two years to gather the tools and start sculpting again. In 2010, I moved to Albuquerque and focused primarily on my woodwork and life as an artist. On a couple of occasions, I’ve had bronze casts made of my work—those reproductions have a personality all their own.