Val, artist Valérie Goutard’s signature, lived her youth and adolescence shuttling between South America, Africa, Europe and France where she was born.
She experienced the touch of clay for the first time in 2001. Fingers and material guided the artist ever since in the accomplishment of her artistic work. Val follows her inner journey, immerses herself in the observation of nature and in listening to her intuition. In 2004, Val settled in Asia and discovered the traditional know-how of bronze alongside Thai foundries. She set up her workshop in Bangkok, where she currently works surrounded by her own team to assist her in the creation of her sculptures, which have taken monumental proportions over the years. In April 2004, for the first time, she exhibited in Bangkok where her works have been in permanent display in galleries since 2005. Val’s sculptures travel across Asia, meandering through megalopolises such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Taiwan. Her noticed participation at the Shanghai Art Fair 2010, together with the unveiling of a monumental sculpture named Urban Life as part of the Jing’An International Sculpture Project, established Val’s reputation amongst renowned sculptors. In 2015, she is the laureate of the Trophée des Français de l’Etranger (Trophy of French Expatriates) in the Art de Vivre (Art of living) section, rewarding her work and her singular life course abroad.