Jacques was born in Hanoi on February 24, 1929. In 1946, at the age of 17, he returned to France with his family and joined the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in the math preparatory class. He stayed there for two years before being admitted to the École Polytechnique in 1948.

Jacques Salles, a graduate of Polytechnique, devoted 38 years of his engineering expertise to the construction of major public and private works both in France and abroad. From a young age, Jacques had admired the feats of engineering in Indochina, as his family traveled regularly between Hanoi and the resort stations of Chapa, Tam Dao, and Yunnan Fou, using the railway.

He retired from engineering on his 60th birthday and, with the enthusiasm of a young beginner, devoted himself fully to designing mobile structures, dedicating the next 32 years of his life to this pursuit.

Vietnam influenced his art, particularly the fascination with kites in the sky and the rapid growth of bamboo, which captivated his attention. This period marked his love for lightweight materials and movement.

He does not consider himself a sculptor and dislikes the term "plasticien," which he feels does not suit him. Instead, he coined a term that he feels defines him perfectly: "structeur." He does not sculpt or model; he creates structures from lightweight materials, assembling bamboo, spinnaker cloth, garcettes, composite tubes, aluminum, and thin stainless steel sheets. He glues, welds, and sands, but never sculpts.

From 2004 onwards, he exhibited successfully every year for about a decade in Aix-en-Provence, either solo, in group shows, or in duo with Sophie de Garam at the Galerie de l’Archevêché. His work garnered genuine interest, supported by increasingly favorable reviews from Christiane Courbon in La Provence.

In 2010, the Vaucluse General Council, on the recommendation of Gabriel Sobin, provided his garden in the center of Avignon for a retrospective of his monumental work. This masterful exhibition led to requests from prestigious exhibition venues in the region, such as Bastide Rose in Thor, Pierre and Poppy Salinger's house, the Maison de la Truffe et du Vin in Ménerbes, the Château de Bosc in Domazan, and the DNR Gallery in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, among others. This period also saw a significant connection with Francis Guerrier, an artist with whom he felt a deep affinity.

From 2014, Amélie du Chalard, the tireless creator of Galerie Zeuxis, later known as Amélie Maison d’Art, welcomed him into her gallery from its inception, now located in the Latin Quarter.

Jacques Salles passed away at his home on December 30, 2021, at the age of 93, after having created over 500 works, which he exhibited in around sixty exhibitions starting from 1999. His works are featured in numerous collections, primarily in Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland, but also in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, his farewell ceremony took place in his garden among friends and family, with his rare, wind-animated bird sculpture gently leaning over his pink coffin, as if to accompany him on his final flight.

4o mini