François Junod

François Junod studied micromechanics at technical college in Sainte-Croix, one of the cradles of Swiss watchmaking. He then moved to Lausanne where he graduated in drawing and sculpture from the city’s school of fine arts. From that moment on, his studio would become filled with old-fashioned androids and modern automata, all the fruit of his imagination. His signature and his talent reside in their belly, in the mechanisms, gears and cogs thanks to which his automata, like mechanical poetry, draw their first artificial breath. While any attempt to reproduce nature is doomed to failure, François Junod imposes his technical mastery and genius on the creatures he assembles, and perpetuates an endangered art. The magic of movement leaves spectators in awe. His Pierrot, pen in hand, young ladies, animal orchestras and other large-format works have found homes in all four corners of the globe.

Mechanical Marvels Exhibition