75-Jarig bestaan van Fabrique Nationale, wapenfabriek te Luik 1964

This bronze artwork commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Fabrique Nationale armaments factory in Liège, Belgium. Look at the different sides of the medallion. On one side we see the years 1889 and 1964 flanking a sculptural relief of two nude figures holding a pineapple-like object on top of their heads. I can only imagine what was going through the artist's mind when composing the imagery for this commemorative piece. Now check out the other side, where a nude male figure is captured mid-swing on what appears to be a tennis court. I wonder how Henriquel-Dupont felt about making this work. What was it like to feel the heaviness of the bronze as he worked? Did he think about the figures he depicted on the coin? The details! I feel like he was in conversation with the figures. It's pretty clear that Henriquel-Dupont was in dialogue with other artists, responding to the world around him and trying to capture something essential about human experience. I love how painting and sculptural practices are a way of making thinking visible.