About the Artist
Providence, Rhode Island
Maxime Jean Lefebvre is an interdisciplinary artist who works mainly with printmaking and ceramics. His work explores the tension between histories, stories, and systems of power and is informed by his personal experiences as a foreigner in America.
Born and raised in France, Maxime has been living in the United States since 2017 in Providence, Rhode Island. He holds a master of fine arts degree in printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design and a diplôme national d’arts plastiques (bachelor of fine arts degree) from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Bourges.
Website: MaximeJeanLefebvre.com
Social Media: @MaximeJeanLefebvre
Artist Statement
I was surprised to learn that many Americans are still obsessed with Napoléon and the heroic tales that surround his tumultuous life. Was it his rapid ascension to power? The self-coronation? The comeback to Paris from Elba Island? Or perhaps Elon Musk is more fascinated with his profound disdain for democracy, his systematic oppression of political opponents, and the vertiginous death tolls his campaigns inflicted.
An Escape? is a box for Napoléon’s last tricorn, the one he wore while looking at the waves crashing on the shore of Saint-Helena, wondering if he could have a fresh start in the New World.
Easy Targets is a hatbox made for a standard Advanced Combat Helmet issued by the American military. The military in the United States is structured as a fascinating blend of authoritarian hierarchy and a social welfare state. The only way a lot of Americans can access good, affordable healthcare, tax-free housing allowance, and generous tuition aid is through enlisting and accepting the ultimate trade-off. The basic structure of many developed countries is used as bait and has progressively become one of the last remaining bastions for the middle class, where service members don’t go broke due to a medical bill.