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Simon Raab
 Born 1952
 Lives and works in Santa Barbara, USA
 www.parleau.com
 Simon Raab works in a medium he  calls “Parleau”  whose etymology  is
 French for 'through the water.' Just for fun and to make a satirical point
 about artist branding, Raab trademarked the name and patented the
 method. Multiple layers of coloured polymers are applied to stainless steel
 and aluminum and then "crushed" or sculpted to give the appearance of
 an image just under the surface of water. The art is created as either a wall-
 mounted painting with embedded frames, or as a freestanding volumetric
 sculpture. Raab works with brilliant colors, fi gurative abstractions, and most
 often is motivated by some underlying philosophical question or belief.

 Raab identifi es with the symbolism of the grenade as a symbol of disruptive
 ideas and the agents of change from whence they come. They have the
 ability to destroy and disrupt and expose suppressed ideas, yet they are
 egg-like, bearing offspring, activated and inspired by the hand of man,
 defensive, aggressive, working in the name of good and evil, dangerous
 and inviting. New and innovative ideas leave the shrapnel of suspicion in
 your mind. The grenade is the perfect symbol for creative destruction and
 aligns  well with the Parleau medium. Parleau enhances the images on
 metal by a sculpting and crushing step, partially destroying after creating
 and generating  a refreshing  and dynamic visual perspective. Life is
 added to images, activated by life’s essence and the cycle of creation
 and destruction.

 Raab began as an artist, became a scientist and engineer and has now
 returned to being an artist. This background provided him with a deep
 insight into materials and surface properties, which he brought to bear
 on his art. The secret processes developed in Parleau were only possible
 because of his scientifi c background. It is a myth that the creative impulses
 and process in the sciences are different than those in the arts. They have
 many similarities, in that they are emotional, inspired, magical, technical,
 and are often born of frustration.
 SIMON RAAB was born in Toulouse, France, grew up in Canada and now lives in
 Santa Barbara, USA. He has exhibited in a number of group shows including; Pull
 the  Pin, Mannheim,  Germany,  2012/2013,  Crushed,  Toronto,  Canada (2012),
 Vibrations, Dresden, Germany, (2012), Dichtung und Wahrheit, Frankfurt am Main,
 Germany  (2012), Surface  Tension,  Seoul,  South  Korea  (2012), Parleau  2007-2011,
 Munich, Germany (2011),  From Behind These Bars, Mannheim, Germany (2011),
 Complexhibition,  Mannheim,  Germany  (2011),  From  Behind  These  Bars,  Vienna,
 Austria (2011),  Attraverso l‘acqua  - Parleau, Massa, Italy (2011),  What comes
 together must come apart, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2010), Attraverso l'acqua
 - Parleau, Lucca, Italy (2010), Also too late for shame, Mannheim, Germany (2010),
 The  Sun  Does  Set,  London,  UK  (2010)  and  New  Objects  -  Parleau,  Mannheim,
 Germany (2009).


 Above: Complexifi cation, 2011, Polymers and
 Aluminium on Granite base.
 h: 80cm w: 33cm d: 30cm, Private Collection.
 Right: Complexhilation, 2011, Polymers and Aluminium
 on shell stone base.
 h: 86cm w: 46cm d: 53cm, Private Collection.



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