Concrete is everywhere in our cities, but in the hands of Paris-based artist duo Xolo Cuintle, it becomes almost unrecognizable.
Working the industrial material by hand, much like clay, Romy Texier and Valentin Vie Binet create sculptures that seem at once petrified and alive. “It’s not really us who control the material, but sometimes we feel like the concrete is controlling us,” they told us.
The duo, who have worked together since 2020, take their name from the xoloitzcuintle, a hairless dog associated with the passage between life and death in Aztec mythology. “We’re very interested in creating strangeness in familiar objects,” they explained. “Is it a chair? Is it a plant? Is it a sculpture? We like this idea that things are not one thing or the other. They are not black or white; they are gray.”
Dust to Dust, 2023
Xolo Cuintle
DS Galerie
First Knot, 2026
Xolo Cuintle
DS Galerie
Each project begins with a “script,” often inspired by the site where the work will be shown. For research, the duo frequents the Bibliothèque de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA) in Paris, where they amass visual references before returning to the studio to experiment with concrete and incorporate cast plants into their sculptures.
Xolo Cuintle is represented by DS Galerie in Paris. Their sculptures are held in the collections of the Centre national des arts plastiques and the Fonds régional d’art contemporain Île-de-France, and they’ve completed public commissions in Paris, including a sculpture garden in the 18th arrondissement and a bas-relief façade at Square du Temple.
Bulb Study of a Arum Psychoda, 2024
Xolo Cuintle
DS Galerie
Buried Seed Crossroad, 2025
Xolo Cuintle
DS Galerie
Named 2026 “Oui Design!” laureates by Villa Albertine, they currently have a solo exhibition, “O Horizon,” at Mécènes du Sud in Montpellier, France, on view through December 19th. They also recently completed a public commission for the 2026 Jing’an International Sculpture Project in Shanghai, curated by UCCA Lab.
We caught up with Xolo Cuintle in Paris, at the INHA library and in their studio in Aubervilliers, France. Watch the video above and explore The Artsy Vanguard 2027.
Heart Shaped Couple, 2021
Xolo Cuintle
DS Galerie
Video credits:
- Executive producer: Casey Lesser
- Creative director: Molly Gottschalk
- Director/DP: Matteo Lonardi
- Editor: Jack Kuczala
- Designer: Douglas Escalante
About The Artsy Vanguard
Now in its ninth year, The Artsy Vanguard is our annual celebration of 10 of the most promising artists working today. Spanning painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, and more, the 2027 cohort brings together a new generation of artists making work that feels fresh, urgent, and distinctly their own. Through an original 10-part video series, we visit each artist in their studio and city, offering an intimate look at their creative processes, inspirations, and what it means to be an emerging artist today. Together, these are the talents shaping what’s next in contemporary art.
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