La Fleur de Feu

La Fleur de Feu is a sculpture by the Croatian artist Igor Lukic. It stands in public space in Grasse, a French city celebrated above all for its perfume industry. You meet the piece the way you meet much of the art here: outdoors, in gardens, plazas and beside important buildings.

Grasse fills its streets with commemorative art, marking artists, poets, historical figures and important events. Busts recall poets such as Bellaud de la Bellaudière, and memorials stand for the painter Jean Honoré Fragonard. Plaques record figures like Marguerite Gérard and Alexandre Évariste Fragonard. Newer pieces come from abroad, and the work by Lukic belongs to that layer. Fenêtre by Katerina Kocianova of the Czech Republic and Dama Pasieczna stand in the same public collection. Information plaques often accompany these works, naming the artist, the subject or the event remembered.

A piece like this often grows into a landmark, a point of interest for locals and visitors alike. The sculptures live in daily life here, so the streets themselves read like an open collection. When you walk past on your way through town, the sculpture asks for a pause and a second look.