The son of a stonecutter, Roger Cavalli immigrated to Canada in 1956. In Europe, his works were exhibited at the Salon des provinces françaises de Metz. When he arrived in Canada, he attended the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, where his skill at modelling materials was noticed. In the 1960s, he was represented by Galerie Martin in Montréal, where he had solo exhibitions in 1965 and 1967. During this period, he was also represented in a number of exhibitions and salons in Québec. His sculptures are in collections in Canada, the United States, Italy, England, France, and Mexico.
Artwork description
Situated in front of the Verdun Cultural Centre, west of the main entrance, Cavalli’s sculpture was produced with the direct carving technique. Hewn from a single vertical block of stone set in a concrete base, the artwork features an elongated woman’s face on its front face. On the back face of the sculpture, a column of superimposed faces emerges from the stone, extending from top to bottom. However, the features are almost unrecognizable as they are simplified and roughly carved, making the artwork half-abstract, half-figurative.