Introducing one of our Secret Auction Artists Agathe de Bailliencourt. Agathe was born in Paris and is currently based in Berlin. She works on canvas and paper, as well as in public space, architecture and nature. Since 2005, her drawings, paintings and installations have been exhibited internationally.
Embracing the limitations of working both inside and outside, patterns such as the straight line, which recur throughout her work, become focal points in the dynamics of space, time and place. She has described her influences as ‘everything that surrounds me: art, music, cinema, literature, architecture, my travels and the cities I visit, nature, spirituality. It’s also quite obvious that I use a lot of what happens in my personal life: I often feel like I am a sponge, absorbing emotions and my whole environment’.
Agathe de Bailliencourt, Je m'en fous, 2010
Agathe uses a range of materials and mediums. For her installations she uses water based acrylic paint. Sometimes she uses tougher enamel paint, if she needs the paint to stay longer. On her canvas she use acrylic paint, pastels, pencils, markers, ink, sometimes collage (papers, fabrics, wool). However, her aesthetic of carefully constructed shapes and a careful consideration of shapes, in particular the straight line, have led to a recognisable signature aesthetic. The use of many materials reveals the artists sense of fun and ‘play’ which can be felt in the work. She has described her favourite part of the day when she can ‘play’ in her studio.
The vibrancy and wonderful composure of her work might be additionally be linked to another part of her process. She says ‘I can’t do anything at all without music. I cannot work in silence. I always have music in my ears, even when I do an outdoors installations. This is the most important thing for me, without music I simply cannot work’. Like a musician organising notes, de Baillencourt organises colour, creating magnificent pieces that brim with the same energy that was put into them.
For those of you who have a keen eye, perhaps you will be able to spot which piece is Agathe's at this years Secret Auction. To find out more about the Auction and keep an eye on the postcards as we receive them go to http://bit.ly/1KoiKjt.
About the writer
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Rosa Torr has a BA in Politics and Philosophy from University College Dublin, though she herself is from London. Her place of interest is political theory and in particular Gender Studies. Rosa has written for numerous online publications and the University Observer. She is also a theatre maker and is currently co-artistic director of BUMP&GRIND Theatre Company. The show she co-wrote BUMP will be on at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. |