InstallationJanuary 23, 2026· By Christine Frèrot
Marie Orensanz: “Beyond Time, Tell Me When You Will Return…”
The commission given to her by the municipality of the city of Montrouge (near Paris) responded to the transformations of the urban space with the creation of a new metro station, which the authorities named Barbara (who passed away in 1997), an iconic French singer known for her lyrics, melodies, and unmistakable voice. Marie Orensanz decided to pay tribute to her by drawing inspiration from one of the artist’s most emblematic songs, centered on the pain of waiting in love. Inaugurated on September 18th, the monumental work, made of stainless steel (3 meters high by 2 meters wide and 30 centimeters thick), is titled “Beyond Time, Tell Me When You Will Return…”. It features the same text whose letters and dots perforate the metal, allowing viewers to see through from afar and, despite the passage of time, metaphorically evoking the durability of Barbara’s work.
The Franco-Argentine artist (born 1936) has lived and worked between France and Argentina for many years. In 1991, at the invitation of the great architect Paul Chemetov, she created a white marble sculpture for the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart High School in Blanc-Mesnil (Paris region), inscribed with the phrase “Action is the consequence of thought.” Since then, she has demonstrated her ability to change scale, creating numerous monumental works in perforated steel, both conceptual and plastic, in places such as Buenos Aires (Memory Park, “Thinking is a revolutionary act,” Corten steel, 1999) and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Explanade of the Museum of Contemporary Art, “Beyond Time,” stainless steel, 2023), to name just a few. Always, text has played a prominent role in her sculptures, drawings, paintings, and objects, as it is essential to both her intellectual and artistic gestures, and to her role as a committed woman aware of the ups and downs of the world.
The Franco-Argentine artist (born 1936) has lived and worked between France and Argentina for many years. In 1991, at the invitation of the great architect Paul Chemetov, she created a white marble sculpture for the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart High School in Blanc-Mesnil (Paris region), inscribed with the phrase “Action is the consequence of thought.” Since then, she has demonstrated her ability to change scale, creating numerous monumental works in perforated steel, both conceptual and plastic, in places such as Buenos Aires (Memory Park, “Thinking is a revolutionary act,” Corten steel, 1999) and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Explanade of the Museum of Contemporary Art, “Beyond Time,” stainless steel, 2023), to name just a few. Always, text has played a prominent role in her sculptures, drawings, paintings, and objects, as it is essential to both her intellectual and artistic gestures, and to her role as a committed woman aware of the ups and downs of the world.
