A memento that will last

Just four months after her death following a tragic motorcycle accident, French sculptor Valerie Goutard’s work “Ville fantastique II” is standing proudly in Benjasiri Park. 
Formally unveiled on Thursday by Deputy Bangkok Governor Wanwilai Promlakano, the monumental sculpture created by Val, as Goutard was known professionally, was presented to the city on behalf of the late artist by the French ambassador to Thailand, Gilles Garachon. Frederic Morel, Val’s partner, and the director of Figures & Sala, was on hand to hand over the sculpture’s certificate of authenticity to Wanwilai.
“Ville fantastique II” reflects the artist’s love for Thailand and, in particular, the city of Bangkok, where she settled in 2004. It was here she found fulfilment, happiness, inspiration and love, and where her work as an artist found success. She decided to offer in return this sculpture to the people of Bangkok to thank them for their warm welcome and great support.
Prior to her passing in October, Val was determined to install this piece of sculpture in a prime and public space where everyone could have access to it without having to enter a museum. 
The plaque on the base of “Ville fantastique II” is engraved with a message from Val: “Surreal vision of the city, crossed destinies, doors and windows opened to the horizon to foster dreams and free thinking”.
Well known for her bronze sculptures, Val exhibited across Asia and was constantly asked to create monumental projects in public and private settings. Her projects include “Inle Balance III” and “Urban Gathering” for the Sofitel Sukhumvit Hotel and “Waiting III”, which was installed in 2014 in Taipei New Times Square. Her recent work, 2015’s “Inequilibre” is displayed in Singapore’s highest residential tower. 
Val’s monumental sculptures are a combination of art and architecture. In terms of art, her sculptures reflect on the attitudes and emotions of man and how we interact with nature and the surrounding environment. Many of her art works are human shaped sculptures with either two or more men in the sculpture itself. In terms of architecture, her artwork reflects structure, how a building is constructed with the use of all lines and shapes.
In 2016, Val installed three sculptures made of concrete, bronze and coral in an underwater site off Koh Tao. Called “Ocean Utopia”, the work in intended to promote the growth and regeneration of endangered coral. 
Days before her death, Val completed a 36-metre monumental sculpture project to be installed in Taiwan.