Henri Iglesis is a contemporary artist of Catalan origin, his workshop is in Perpignan, inventor of the blown sheet metal process...

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He was born in 1964 in Perpignan, his grandfather was a blacksmith and his father was a turner-toolmaker.

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In 2008, this boilermaker became a sculptor, with the surprising invention of a process that would become his trademark: blown sheet metal. He cuts out two pieces of sheet metal, which are then welded and deformed by injecting compressed air, giving the whole thing the impression of an inflated balloon that is about to fly away.

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The figure of his father, a turner and fitter, was certainly decisive in the artistic development of the young boy. Henri Iglesis spent his childhood in the workshop of this craftsman whom he loved and admired with fervour. "Don't touch anything, look and you will learn" he would say to him in a low voice... From then on, it is easier to understand Henri's passion for manual work and metals, which he rubbed shoulders with all his life and which he drew his art.

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Henri Iglesis finished his schooling in 1981, after obtaining a double diploma in "boilermaker, sheet metal" and "welder", he worked in a manufacturing workshop without further delay. He continued to frequent his father's workshop, where he made several objects in sheet metal worked with a hammer.

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It was in 2008, during the development of a statue bearing the effigy of his son, that he had the idea of injecting air into a piece of sheet metal welded beforehand.

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The majority of his works are sculptures shaped by inflation.

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This original shaping process, which he refined and developed, is now officially registered, and the expression "tôle soufflée" or "blown sheet metal” is copyrighted.

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It is therefore through this singular technique that the artist's whimsical creativity unfolds, allowing his overflowing imagination and mischievous humour to take concrete form. His refined works are imbued with a characteristic lightness: visual lightness, combining the weight of patinated metal with the suppleness of air; but above all, the lightness of a dreamlike, colourful, carefree world, into which Henri Iglesis draws us.

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The little man is his emblematic creation, its dimensions range from 45 cm to more than one meter. They can be assembled on top of each other in twos or threes, or even in a circle, like a farandole. More than ten different colours, and stainless steel or silver aspects are also offered by the artist.