Press
"At first meeting it is a "generosity that sparkles” that seems to emanate from Agnės Bouche Barbare and that is exactly what we find in her paintings.
First of all, it's the sense of color and shape that dominate. Later when the eye looks deeper, transparencies disappear to yield a sense of the underlying existence of something different, far away from just the material used in the work’s creation.
The feeling is something light and merry, very happy and full of life, a much like a party. Because Agnes's inspiration is transparent from the raw materials she uses as a support to the magic of her vision.
The work is stunningly unique and harmonious."
Brigitte Forest, journalist - FRANCE INTER
Paintings…
The word seems too vast, too vague. The immobility of a tree is only an illusion. Under the bark, its sap circulates unceasingly in a fine tissue of narrow canals: the inner bark or phloem, liber in French. Strangely, this capillarity gives birth to thought in living beings like us. Separated from its outer skin, this inner bark was used by our remote ancestors to form their first letters and attempt to pass on to us their history and their mysteries. The Latin word liber (meaning book and free) gave rise in due course to the French words « livre » and « liberté ». The creations of Agnès resemble great books in which, under the immobility of their signs, meaning and feeling circulate. Between thought and its medium, the sap of colours forms patterns of liberty. The word ‘painting’ is too vast, too vague… Every creation of Agnès is a liber.
Jean Joseph Julaud, author - http://jeanjosephjulaud.fr
Personal message from an artist living in freedom
The fabulous world of Agnès is an invitation to turn one’s back on gloom and recover the pleasure of smiling. The creations of Agnès lead you to give a voice to your inner child.
Gaiety, joie de vivre, colour and warmth: rarely has an artist given so much of herself, her irrepressible energy, her love of life, her delight in being. Because life is delightful and Agnès offers us her share of it.
Her creations testify to what is most pure and concentrated in us, the energy of childhood. Her libers are an allegory of life.
The pieces are separate but make up a whole that is in our image like universe of which we all form part. Her work is in her image, and it never ceases to surprise us, for Agnès resembles nobody else. She shapes life like a work of art, this tremendous life of happiness and cruelty, with a unique talent.
She creates as she breathes, with courage, passion, curiosity and desire. She bears all the positive energy that a human being can hold and offer. Her creations pass on to us this vital energy, genuine talismans, painted charms. They are an invitation into the life of an artist and a woman living in freedom.
Karine Zibaut, author and photograph - http://www.karinezibaut.fr
In Deco Mag magazine July/august 2015 :
Contact
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To contact me : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Or send me a message below.
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http://www.galerieab.fr/ (Agnès Attouarez) http://lamourdelart.com (Marie Borel) http://www.akiri.fr/ (Anouk Garcia) http://www.espace-krajcberg.com/ (Julie Binet) http://prinkshop.com/ (Pamela Bell) http://www.lachapkadanastasia.com (Juliette Mioche) |
Inspiration
Each painting originates from a quote, a poem or even her own writing and which inspires her to create more profoundly. This deeper understanding becomes a revelation of insight.
As a graphic designer, Agnes draws constant inspiration from her study and awareness of current and contemporary trends. The result can be seen in these unique and stunning pieces. In her use of wood, Agnès seeks to transmit the harmonious vibration of nature’s unending life energy to the viewer. Her merging together of these primal materials evokes the mystery of creation. The individually shaped and sanded pieces of wood bring life to her paintings. Their intersections create a remarkable graphic effect and thus become much like the musical notes on a score. They become a visual counterpart to a musical symphony, bringing dimension and depth to the paintings while also offering the viewer various levels of personal interpretation.
"Words converge where fine wood meet, intersections combine and ideas unite".
They become the calligraphy of distant countries or continents, each far from the other, but meeting here. Through this diversity of cultures and the richness of humanity, we are taken on a voyage of enlightenment. Extracted from a living composition, after a year of exploration, connecting shapes, mixing and matching colors at the intersections of lines, new forms emerge. Letters and words are transformed into an imaginary world that closely collects and poetically unifies diverse ethnic groups. This mixture of symbols - juxtaposed, intermingled or associated - was born from the idea of a simultaneous communion of cultures and the senses, safeguarding their singular oneness.
These recurring themes are often linked to the idea of travel - physical, intellectual or spiritual. Whether in relation to nature, or a personal inner journey, these inspirations take us towards the cradle of life. Agnės Bouche leads us there.
ABB
CARPE DIEM
«Seize and enjoy the present day» (Horace)
Bargain-hunting here and there-deep within oneself-, taming the subtle sensations felt back at the sight of the slightest shades, and detecting one’s own «centre of gravity»- this axis intimately linked to the blissful moment when one can say «carpe diem» - all this leads us to what is essential: to hear beyond the music we are listening to, and see beyond the words we are reading, to feel beyond all interpretations and juggle with our most convoluted emotions.
Being lucky enough to be an artist is being able to seize any ordinary and fleeting moment in life, like childhood memories, as original paths full of colours flashing in mind, and then assimilate them instinctively and intensively. I wish I could immortalize the merest moments leading to friendship and love, and intensify the divine link among artists-all of us being artists in some way.
ABB
FOREST BATH
It is five o’clock in the morning during the rainy season. I am fully immersed in the incredible rainforest. I am thrilled by inimitable visions of myriad dark greens which glow amid the glimmering reds of the lush shade. Many variations of Mother Earth’s life forms seem to exist here, and their presence evokes the virile power of life witnessed in the voluptuous encounters between microcosm and macrocosm. Each inch of that black or red earth is full of life, whether plant, animal or mineral. Thus, everything seems to be allowed - nothing happens by chance. Gigantic fan-shaped palms vibrate like djembe drums in the driving rain creating bass sounds that muffle the strident whistling of invisible birds. The huge sturdy leaves pulsate color and quiver in greenish blues producing sparkling variegated reflections. The sap is oozing its odor, mixed with the sweet smell of the alluvium humus. The world is teeming with life. The animals have nestled in the shadows and uttered fewer and fewer sounds. The Buffle toads with their piercing croaking seem to be transmitting a trickle of signals to the grumpy apes which are brawling hoarsely.
Like living fossils, the tree-ferns have spread open. Swollen with dampness, their sweet scent evokes the ancestors’ spirits. Drop by drop, I have fallen line with this ancient cadence, as if tamed by its beat. The tempo becomes more and more deafening as this wondrous concert speeds up, and my inner rhythm matches the beat. The pungent smells of humus make me feel dizzy. My spirit wanders free and wide. I try to grasp the meaning of so many sounds erupting and repeating indefinitely, and embrace their essence. While communing with what has been unchanged since the dawn of time, I realize that my own evolution is in its early stages, still unable to associate these fundamental sounds with their shamanist characters. As the rain is eases off, giant butterflies flit about as exotic birds sip the last drops of water with pleasure.
At sunrise life’s momentum begins again with another miraculous concert that quickly becomes intense. Here, there and from out of nowhere, the sounds of chirping, twittering, hooting, and screeching alternate and bounce over the vegetal thickness. I am feeling sated; I am a part of all creation, and creation is part of me. Then, having found fulfillment, I attempt to contain my intense emotion, keep it under control, and stretch it out like a jungle vine to understand the message - my state of pure joy at being in harmony with nature, as if I were also nestled in that timeless lush greenery.
ABB
THE MYSTERY OF NATURE
The tree, as a clear symbol of life. It is the link between earth and sky, between what is visible and invisible. The sap carried by the trunk and limbs reminds us of the blood running in our veins. Perpetually regenerating and rooted in the earth, its branches reaching for the sky, the tree returns us to the roots of our own primal origins.
Agnes believes in balance and the sacred forest. She is committed to saving and replenishing the majestic and beautiful trees which offer their material to her art. She is a member of Association Akiri, and works against the Amazonian deforestation and encourages others to join in this vital fight for our planet.
Translation : Acey Harper
The artist
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Agnès Bouche Barbare lives and works in Paris, on a hill «La Butte Bergeyre» next to the romantic river called le «Canal Saint-Martin». She creates stunning original works from a unique and subtle combination of wood, oil and pigments. Her work revolves around signs or symbols and incorporates a sophisticated juxtaposition of colors, each a remarkable combination of painting and sculpture, sobriety and abstraction. Each painting originates from a quote, a poem or even her own writing, that inspires her to create more profoundly. This deeper understanding becomes a revelation of insight.As a graphic designer, Agnes draws constant inspiration from her study and awareness of current and contemporary trends. She uses various types of wood, such as oak, beech or pine. The central parts are finely cut, sanded, smoothed, and then tinted depending on the desired finish. With a thickness of 2 inches, their size varies from 23 in. to more than 120 in. In this carnal and primal material, the artist’s hand is harmoniously guided in a way between abandonment and control, between what is defined and what is ethereal, or even embossed and impalpable. In her use of wood, Agnès seeks to transmit the harmonious vibration of nature’s unending life energy to the viewer. Her merging together of these primal materials evokes the mystery of creation. The individually shaped and sanded pieces of wood bring life to her paintings. Their intersections create a remarkable graphic effect and thus become much like the musical notes on a score. They become a visual counterpart to a musical symphony, bringing dimension and depth to the paintings while also offering the viewer various levels of personal interpretation. The result is an artistic work closely related to the senses, from sight to touch, between freedom and control, where the suggested pace gives impetus to the movement. After passing her entrance exam at the Fine Arts School of Paris (Beaux Arts), she attended sculpture classes at the École Boulle - wood became her favorite material - and studied Art History at the École du Louvre and plastic arts at the Charpentier Academy, where she completed her studies. She traveled throughout Europe for 12 years, residing primarily in Italy and Denmark. Completing a number of commissions and projects she returned to France and joined the Maison des Artistes in Paris, dedicating herself exclusively to painting. This led to her becoming a member of the A.A.F. (Ateliers d’Art de France) in 2009, the nationally and internationally prestigious artistic institution. She was selected to participate in the 2013 exhibition «Revelations» at the Grand Palais of Paris. She also showed most of her works at the Palais de Tokyo in 2014. She was gratified and personally touched by the appreciation of the public reaction to her work. It was after displaying her magnificent, large-sized artworks in both venues that she began to receive many corporate and private commissions of her custom-made pieces with specific themes. Agnès is fascinated by the beautiful «human machine» of which we are all composed and evolving at every moment. These themes are developed from the crucial, beautiful steps of her own life, each reflecting her personal sensations and reactions to a poem or a quote. These texts, chosen to echo her paintings, induce multiple interpretations. Manipulating shapes and symbols, she skillfully juggles with fragments of various thoughts, chosen among spiritual or literary media. Sometimes she uses calligraphies of different countries or continents, each far from the other, but meeting here. Extracted from a living composition, connecting shapes, mixing and matching colors at the intersections of lines, new forms emerge. Letters and words are transformed into an imaginary world that closely collects and poetically unifies diverse ethnic groups. This mixture of symbols - juxtaposed, intermingled or associated - was born from the idea of a simultaneous communion of cultures and the senses, safeguarding their singular oneness. Each piece of wood which composes the work is cut, sanded, smoothed, transformed. From each of them emerges a vibrational form. Thus from this maze of deep thought and intimate emotion, arises the idea of a spiritual transformation, favored by rhythm and seen from the perspective of progression, elevation and union. Human evolution merges with spirituality and nature. In evoking this universal force she takes us back to our essential being, to the inner mind and the sensations of bliss that we should all perceive and elude us. We become aware of our inevitable blindness caused by the limitations of our awareness. The act of creating in full consciousness carries within itself, the spark of authenticity. Agnès merely assumes that every work of art contains in a subtle way an energetic potential that she wishes to share. These recurring themes are often linked to the idea of travel - physical, intellectual or spiritual. Whether in relation to nature, or a personal inner journey, these inspirations take us towards the cradle of life. Translation : Acey Harper
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