A humble prince is bringing sculptures symbolic of heritage and culture to Columbus – Bambara Jean-Luc has made his debut in the United States by displaying his “La Vie En Pierre” exhibit of stone and bronze in the Kiaca Gallery at 941 North High St., which opened its doors in December 2003 and has held many first-time exhibits.

Jean-Luc, a prince from west Africa, is a renowned artist who has artwork in exhibits all around the world in regions as diverse as France, Spain and Africa. The showing began July 9 and will last until Oct. 29.

The “La Vie En Pierre” art exhibit is unique to Columbus because no one in any other city in the United States has had the opportunity of seeing Jean-Luc’s artwork.

“Jean-Luc doesn’t deal with galleries; he deals with countries,” said Kibanou Tchalim, treasurer of Kiaca.

He has taken bronze and stone and made them into 3-D objects which attempt to captivate the viewer’s mind and make them think about the meaning and concept behind the artwork. Every piece – simple yet artistic and exotic – has a story.

“Many of the pieces are moving,” school teacherKeith Deja said.

Jean-Luc has strong determination plus amazing talent and puts a great deal of passion into his artwork, said Talle Bamazi, director and founder of Kiaca. Jean-Luc’s pieces have strong African and French influences that convey the pride and passion that he has for his heritage.

Jean-Luc’s art is simple, but he gives definition and character to the pieces of stone and bronze by molding and shaping them into images of people, personifying the stone.

“The stone pieces give a lot of different perspectives” said Sara Adrian, a local artist.

Jean-Luc allows the viewer to look deeper into what one might think is just statues of figures and faces, by displaying the sculptures to question ideas of self-identity and the family structure within contemporary society, patrons said.

One of the pieces on display is “Espirt D’une Famille”- a bronze statue that has three people linked together in a circle.

“It reminds me of a warm, living household that you don’t see anymore,” said Diedra Brown, an exhibit visitor. “This gives you peace.”