Agnès Thurnauer Explained

Agnès Thurnauer
Birth Place:Paris
Nationality:French, Swiss
Education:École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs
Known For:Painting, collage, sculpture, installation art
Notable Works:Portraits grandeur nature, Matrice/sol, Grande prédelle, Big-Big et Bang-Bang, Olympia

Agnès Thurnauer (born 1962) is a French-Swiss contemporary artist.[1] Primarily a painter, she also works with a number of other media and techniques.[2]

Biography

Agnès Thurnauer was born in 1962, in Paris, France, where she continues to live and work.[3] She attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, where she studied cinema and video art.[4] [5]

Notable work

Big-Big et Bang-Bang (1995—1996)

Big-Big et Bang-Bang are a series of abstract acrylic paintings in subtle colour tones on canvas created by Thurnauer between 1995 and 1996.[6] The works were created with the canvases stapled to the wall. The paintings were only mounted on frames when complete, for the purposes of display and preservation.[7]

Portraits grandeur nature (2007—2009)

In 2007, Thurnauer first exhibited her work Portraits grandeur nature, a series of oversized buttons (each 120 cm in diameter) in resin and epoxy paint displaying the names of well-known artists, mostly male, transformed into names evoking the opposite gender. For example, Marcel Duchamp becomes Marcelle Duchamp and Andy Warhol becomes Annie Warhol. An exception is the button reading Louis Bourgeois, a masculinized version of the name of the artist Louise Bourgeois.[8] This work, which questions both the literal and figurative representation of women in art, propelled her to previously unattained notoriety as an artist.[9]

Prédelles (2007—2011)

Beginning in 2007, Thurnauer produced a series of works, called Prédelle (the French term for predella). The Grande Prédelle incarnations, produced from 2008 to 2011, are diptychs, each depicting a large feathered wing along a deformation of the iconic title of the magazine Elle.[10] The title and subject convey a multiple play on words, simultaneously acting as a homonym for "près d'elle" and "aile", respectively meaning "close to her" and "wing" in French.[11] Cyclicly, each Grande Prédelle painting has its own palette glued to it as a finishing touch.[12]

Olympia #2 (2012)

In 2013, Thurnauer was invited by Yale University to participate in an exhibition celebrating the 150th anniversary of two masterpieces by Édouard Manet (Olympia and Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, 1863). Thurnauer contributed the painting Olympia#2, which features a rendition of Manet's Olympia with textual terms of endearment superimposed upon the image.[13] Thurnauer was also a speaker at the associated conference.

You (2012—2013)

During a period of two months in 2015, Jesus College at the University of Cambridge replaced three portraits of male alumni in the formal dining hall with a crayon drawing triptych by Thurnauer, called You. These large portraits of women are extractions from paintings by Manet: A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, The Railway (of painter Victorine Louise Meurent), and another portrait of Meurent.[14] Central to Thurnauer's choice of Manet's work as a starting point is the notion that his female subjects were themselves painters, as opposed to models. Inevitably, the subjects' regards captured in the paintings are therefore those of Manet's professional peers looking upon him as he worked.[15] This marked the first time that Thurnauer's work was shown in the United Kingdom.[16]

Matrice/sol (2012)

The work Matrice/sol consists of moulds of letters of the alphabet made from resin. Through the characters created from the negative space of the moulds, the work is intended to demonstrate that art is a question of interpretation and language, elements that change constantly.[17] [18]

Painting as a medium

Thurnauer continues to challenge the relevance of the medium of painting today, which remains her staple despite ventures into other methods. For Thurnauer, a painting is not simply a passive surface displaying an image. Rather, it is a means to an active experience for the viewer.[19] She has stated that she is interested in working with paint, an ordinary, inanimate object, as a means of confronting one's intemporality.

Relationship with language

Thurnauer has long been fascinated with language, as evidenced by the recurring theme of wordplay, text and symbols in her work.[20] She has been considered as a distant successor to the Art & Language movement.[21]

Thurnauer considers the medium of painting to be a "place of speech". Her interpretation of this idea transcends the physical appearance of text in paintings, implying the materialization of thought itself. In her sculpture, Matrice/Sol, she employs letters moulded from resin, not merely as literal tools, but as spatial delimiters whose interstices form an expanse within which one can circulate.

Solo exhibitions (selected)

Group exhibitions (selected)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Agnès Thurnauer. Centre Pompidou. 10 March 2015. 17 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141217181349/https://www.centrepompidou.fr/cpv/resource/cn44kK/r7XqbK. dead.
  2. Book: Palais de Tokyo. Notre histoire : une scène artistique française émergente. 2006. Paris Musées. Paris. 2-87900-950-2. 209. fr.
  3. Book: Agnès Thurnauer, Now. Dirié. Clément. monografik éditions. 2008. 978-2-916545-56-1 . Blou. 162–185. Lebovici. Elisabeth. Sausset. Daniel. fr.
  4. News: Les mandarins de l'art contemporain. Simons. Pauline. 24 October 2009. Le Figaro. 21 March 2015. fr. 0182-5852.
  5. Portrait. Agnès Thurnauer. 10 February 2012. 10 March 2015. Critique d'art. Boulbès. Carole. 33 . 10.4000/critiquedart.632 . free.
  6. Book: de Chassey, Éric. Agnès Thurnauer. Maison d'Art contemporain Chailloux. 1996. 2-909686-10-8. Cachan. Foreword.
  7. Book: Berrebi, Sophie. Agnès Thurnauer. Institut français d'Ecosse. 1998. Edinburgh. 17.
  8. Web site: Agnès Thurnauer, Portraits Grandeur Nature, 2007-2008. 2007. 10 March 2015. elles@centrepompidou. Centre Pompidou.
  9. Web site: La Collection : Agnès Thurnauer ou "le surgissement de l'être peinture" . 16 August 2012 . 10 March 2015 . Arte . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103628/http://creative.arte.tv/en/community/la-collection-agnes-thurnauer-ou-le-surgissement-de-letre-peinture . 2 April 2015 .
  10. Web site: Prédelle (Rainbow Elbow). 10 March 2015. Centre Pompidou.
  11. News: On the wings of painting. Hindry. Ann. 2009. Musée d'Angers Press Release.
  12. Book: Le Nouëne, Patrick. Thurnauer à Angers. Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Angers. 2009. 978-2-35293-000-6. Angers. 2–3. Brief introductory foreword to the Agnès Thurnauer exhibition embedded in the permanent collections of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Angers. Elaine Briggs. Charles Penwarden.
  13. News: 'Olympiad' celebrates modernist masterpieces. Jones. Sara. 13 September 2013. Yale Daily News. 15 March 2015.
  14. News: Jesus installs female portraits. Schoefer. Till. 30 January 2015. Varsity. 23 March 2015.
  15. News: Esteemed men make way for women at Jesus College's Great Hall. 26 January 2015. Cambridge News. 23 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402114954/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Esteemed-men-make-way-women-Jesus-College-s-Great/story-25914232-detail/story.html. 2015-04-02. dead.
  16. News: You – an exhibition by Agnès Thurnauer.. 22 January 2015. University of Cambridge, For staff. 10 March 2015.
  17. Web site: Exposition " Agnès Thurnauer : Le pays et la langue " à Kunsthalle LAB — Institut Français de Slovaquie. institutfrancais.sk. fr. 2017-11-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107012029/https://institutfrancais.sk/fr/actualites/461/exposition-agnes-thurnauer/. 2017-11-07. dead.
  18. Web site: Exposition roman psychanalytique The Hidden Mother à l'atelier Rouart, 12 octobre-17 novembre 2012. Duverger. Sylvia. October 22, 2012. Féministes en tous genres. https://web.archive.org/web/20180208123530/http://feministesentousgenres.blogs.nouvelobs.com/archive/2012/10/12/exposition-the-hidden-mother-a-l-atelier-galerie-rouart-brac.html. February 8, 2018. dead.
  19. Nantes, Bayeux, Paris: Agnès Thurnauer . Hindry . Ann . June 2014 . Artpress . 10 March 2015 . 412 . 0245-5676 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402095924/http://www.agnesthurnauer.net/content/04-press/27-nantes-bayeux-paris-agnes-thurnauer/art-press-agnes-thurnauer.pdf . 2 April 2015 .
  20. Book: Pires do Vale, Paulo. Agnès Thurnauer: The place is the word, the word is the place. Galerie Fernand Leger. 2016. Ivry-sur-Seine. 27–29.
  21. Web site: Agnès Thurnauer arpente le langage de la peinture. Bellet. Harry. 30 April 2014. Le Monde. 31 August 2016.
  22. Book: Agnès Thurnauer: Pour en venir au monde. Wajcman. Gérard. Le CREDAC. 2001. 9782907643948. Ivry-sur-Seine. fr. Domino. Christophe.
  23. Web site: Bien faite, mal faite, pas faite (well done, badly done, not done) Project XX Story for the S.M.A.K. . 10 March 2015 . S.M.A.K. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402151957/http://smak.be/tentoonstelling.php?la=en&id=362 . 2 April 2015 .
  24. Web site: Agnès Thurnauer. 10 March 2015. CCC. fr.
  25. Web site: Les Femmes au Musée. 10 March 2015. Angers. fr. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402134042/http://www.angers.fr/fileadmin/plugin/tx_dcddownloads/CP_Femmes.pdf. 2 April 2015. dead.
  26. Web site: Rétrospective. 10 March 2015. Emerige. fr. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402221152/http://www.emerige.com/fr/art-mecenat/. 2015-04-02. dead.
  27. Agnès Thurnauer, Manifestement. Couturier. Elisabeth. January 2012. Artpress. 10 March 2015. 385. 0245-5676. fr.
  28. Web site: Sujet, verbe, et compléments. 10 March 2015. immanence. fr.
  29. Web site: Agnès Thurnauer " Figure libre ". 10 March 2015. Le Radar. fr. 3 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225332/http://v1.le-radar.fr/upload/specif_expos/pdf/628.pdf. dead.
  30. Web site: Now when then, de Tintoret à Tuymans. 10 March 2015. Musée de Beaux-Arts de Nantes. fr.
  31. Web site: Press release: Agnès Thurnauer Solo Show. 10 March 2015. Galerie de Roussan.
  32. Web site: Female portraits oust men in Jesus College University of Cambridge. 2016-03-03. University of Cambridge. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172742/http://www.cam.ac.uk/for-staff/news/female-portraits-oust-men-in-jesus-college. 2016-03-03. 2016-03-03.
  33. Web site: Agnès Thurnauer. 11 March 2015. Biennale de Lyon 2005. fr. 3 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201519/http://2005.labiennaledelyon.com/fran/artistes/thurna.htm. dead.
  34. Web site: Agnès Thurnauer. 11 March 2015. elles@centrepompidou.
  35. Web site: Agnès Thurnauer, Drawing Now Paris, galerie de Roussan, Carrousel du Louvre, du 11 au 14/04/13. 9 April 2013. 11 March 2015. ouvretesyeux. fr.
  36. News: Yale marks 150th anniversary of Manet's landmark paintings. McDonald. Amy Athey. 10 September 2013. YaleNews. 10 March 2015.
  37. Web site: Uma exposição só delas. contramão. Costa. Juliana. pt. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143816/http://contramao.una.br/category/ccbb/page/3/. 2015-04-02. dead.
  38. Web site: Montagem Exposição Elles - Pompidou. 23 May 2013. 11 March 2015. CCBB Rio de Janeiro's Page. pt.
  39. Web site: "G I R L" curated by Pharrell Williams. 11 March 2015. Galerie Perrotin.
  40. Web site: Galerie Valérie Bach, Bruxelles, Belgique. 11 March 2015. Drawing Now Paris. https://web.archive.org/web/20150329163136/http://www.drawingnowparis.com/portfolio-item/galerie-valerie-bach-bruxelles-belgique. 2015-03-29. dead.
  41. Web site: A Bitter Sweet Legacy. 11 March 2015. Galerie de Roussan.
  42. Web site: Cet obscur objet de désirs. L'Origine du monde. https://archive.today/20150309071304/http://www.macommune.info/evenement/cet-obscur-objet-de-desirs-lorigine-du-monde-102801. dead. 9 March 2015. 25 August 2014. 11 March 2015. maCommune. fr.

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