{"id":17805,"date":"2025-11-21T16:29:54","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T16:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/francis-ballu-the-mountain-and-the-fly\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T16:29:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T16:29:53","slug":"francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/","title":{"rendered":"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/B_Miara-Ouverture5-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" data-id=\"12439\" src=\"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/B_Miara-Ouverture5-800x531.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12439\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/B_Miara-Ouverture10-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" data-id=\"12441\" src=\"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/B_Miara-Ouverture10-800x531.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12441\"\/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\"><br><\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\"\/><\/h2><h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>The Mountain and the Fly<\/em><\/strong><\/h1><p><\/p><p>Cabinetmaker Francis Ballu was awarded first prize in the &#8220;meilleurs ouvriers de France&#8221; competition in 1979. Versatile, he is also a sculptor, engraver and poet. In 1980, with architect R\u00e9mi Colmet Da\u00e2ge and cabinetmaker Martin Spreng, he founded the Xylos group. In 1998, Xylos joined the prestigious Grands Ateliers de France association. The group quickly established a solid reputation, winning numerous public and private commissions.    <\/p><p>The approach of these passionate designers is in the tradition of the Arts &amp; Crafts movement, created in England in the mid-19th century by William Morris, who, at a time when industrialization was in full swing, defended the alliance of the beautiful and the useful, traditional skills and above all their involvement in the creation of furniture and everyday objects. The Xylos Group&#8217;s creations similarly blend art and life. <\/p><p>It&#8217;s the functional, furniture-like sculptures that interest Francis Ballu in the group. They are always enigmatic: <em>La Boule<\/em> (1998) can be used as a bar or a cigar cellar, <em>the sails of boats in regattas<\/em> (2006) can be used as benches in the Chemin de l&#8217;Ile garden, the <em>Totems-si\u00e8ges<\/em>(1996), and so on. They have an unexpected, magical and unusual character, due to their secret nature. Indeed, some of them give no hint of their function: the almost cubist abstract sculpture <em>Le Poids de l&#8217;\u00e9criture<\/em> (2003), for example, reveals its identity as a writing table.   <\/p><p>Their creations are sophisticated and well thought-out. They are designed with wood species and innovative technologies. What interests them most is combining different materials. They work mainly with wood and resin, to which they give the appearance of stone. The illusion of materials is characteristic of their work. The works are deeply rooted in a dialogue with nature that revolves around the link between the mineral and the vegetable.     <\/p><p>After working together for some thirty years, the paths of the protagonists of the Xylos group are parting. Francis Ballu continues his creative activity in the continuity of the issues that have always been his, which are in a way his DNA. While he is increasingly interested in &#8220;pure&#8221; sculpture, he remains fundamentally passionate about the functional dimension of sculpture. Today, he works with Julien Tillie, his right-hand man, and Etienne de Saint Exup\u00e9ry &#8211; a remarkable mechanic &#8211; who collaborates on the mechanical aspects of the movements. For the past ten years or so, Francis Ballu has been creating sculptures, called <em>Gmites<\/em>, which support the branches of the weeping blue cedar, the jewel in the crown of the arboretum in the Vall\u00e9e-aux-Loups departmental park in the Hauts-de-Seine department. The work develops and grows with the rhythm of nature. The sculptures are living elements in symbiosis with the tree. They are one with it.       <\/p><p>From June 3, the Galerie de l&#8217;Institut presents an exhibition devoted to his latest creation, entitled <em>La Montagne et la Mouche (The Mountain and the Fly<\/em> ), a binary title that aptly sums up his research. The work is a sculpture. It evokes a mountain. The sculpture opens up to reveal its share of mystery, surprise and the unusual. It unfolds a workshop for making fishing flies, consisting of a workbench, a vice and a set of drawers for storing the materials needed to make these baits. This extraordinary enthusiast&#8217;s creation features mineral and petrified mineral effects that testify to a great sensitivity to materials. <em>La Montagne et la Mouche<\/em> is accompanied in the exhibition by a large wall decoration, on the theme of glaciation, whose functionality is to be discovered, entitled <em>Le Glacier<\/em>.     <\/p><p><em>Anne Coron, in collaboration with Francis Ballu<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Mountain and the Fly Cabinetmaker Francis Ballu was awarded first prize in the &#8220;meilleurs ouvriers de France&#8221; competition in 1979. Versatile, he is also a sculptor, engraver and poet. In 1980, with architect R\u00e9mi Colmet Da\u00e2ge and cabinetmaker Martin Spreng, he founded the Xylos group. In 1998, Xylos joined the prestigious Grands Ateliers de [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":17813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[322],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-17805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-documentation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly - Galerie Institut<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read our article: Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly, visit our page to see more articles about our Art Gallery in Paris.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly - Galerie Institut\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Read our article: Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly, visit our page to see more articles about our Art Gallery in Paris.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Galerie Institut\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-21T16:29:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T16:29:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"brianne@neocamino.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"brianne@neocamino.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"brianne@neocamino.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f083fb254d7adddb9809e5ba926fdc37\"},\"headline\":\"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-21T16:29:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-12T16:29:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":608,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Documentation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/\",\"name\":\"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly - Galerie Institut\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-21T16:29:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-12T16:29:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f083fb254d7adddb9809e5ba926fdc37\"},\"description\":\"Read our article: Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly, visit our page to see more articles about our Art Gallery in Paris.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/accueil\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Galerie Institut\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f083fb254d7adddb9809e5ba926fdc37\",\"name\":\"brianne@neocamino.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a289e1f5fea02861fb1cc4c35e04666cccac990e80d3a940b8def4ad4c3ce529?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a289e1f5fea02861fb1cc4c35e04666cccac990e80d3a940b8def4ad4c3ce529?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a289e1f5fea02861fb1cc4c35e04666cccac990e80d3a940b8def4ad4c3ce529?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"brianne@neocamino.com\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/galerie-institut.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/brianneneocamino-com\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly - Galerie Institut","description":"Read our article: Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly, visit our page to see more articles about our Art Gallery in Paris.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly - Galerie Institut","og_description":"Read our article: Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly, visit our page to see more articles about our Art Gallery in Paris.","og_url":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/","og_site_name":"Galerie Institut","article_published_time":"2025-11-21T16:29:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-12T16:29:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"brianne@neocamino.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"brianne@neocamino.com","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/"},"author":{"name":"brianne@neocamino.com","@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f083fb254d7adddb9809e5ba926fdc37"},"headline":"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly","datePublished":"2025-11-21T16:29:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-12T16:29:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/"},"wordCount":608,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg","articleSection":["Documentation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/","url":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/","name":"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly - Galerie Institut","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-21T16:29:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-12T16:29:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f083fb254d7adddb9809e5ba926fdc37"},"description":"Read our article: Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly, visit our page to see more articles about our Art Gallery in Paris.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bannie\u0300re-ballu2.jpg","width":1200,"height":628},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/francis-ballu-la-montagne-et-la-mouche\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/accueil\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Francis Ballu, The Mountain and the Fly"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/","name":"Galerie Institut","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f083fb254d7adddb9809e5ba926fdc37","name":"brianne@neocamino.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a289e1f5fea02861fb1cc4c35e04666cccac990e80d3a940b8def4ad4c3ce529?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a289e1f5fea02861fb1cc4c35e04666cccac990e80d3a940b8def4ad4c3ce529?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a289e1f5fea02861fb1cc4c35e04666cccac990e80d3a940b8def4ad4c3ce529?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"brianne@neocamino.com"},"url":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/author\/brianneneocamino-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17815,"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17805\/revisions\/17815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17805"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerie-institut.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=17805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}