paul raguenes blog - exhibition online

Exhibitions

2012
CCNOA 30X30 collection - Moinsun - Paris - F - (g)
Factory 49 - Sydney -Aus- (p)
La Bf15 - & -Duo show with Iain Baxter - Lyon -F
Musée Paul Dini - Villefranche/Saône - F - (g)
Colorific-School of arts of Braine-l'alleud (curated by Petra Bungert) - B - (g)
Paris Concret - Paris - F - (g)
Factory 49 - Sydney - Aus -(g)

2011
SNO Centre - Sydney - AUS - (g)
Slick 11 - Galerie Bertrand Grimont- Paris- F - (g)
Galerie Van den Berge - Goes -NL - (p)
Factory 49 - Sydney - AUS - (g)
Villa Delaporte - Casablanca - MC - (g)
Galerie José Martinez - Lyon - F - (g)
Galerie Van den Berge - Goes - NL - (g)
La lune en parachute - Epinal - F - (g)
Back to Basics - Pont de Claix - F- (g)
Créa Factory - Chromotube- Pont Evêque - F -(p)

2010
Galerie Van den Berge - Goes - NL - (g)
ArtParis - Vanessa Suchar - Paris - F - (g)
Galerie Guy Bärtschi - Geneva - CH - (g)
ArtAmsterdam - Galerie Van den Berge - NL - (g)
Galerie Bertrand Grimont - Paris - F - (g)
Galerie José Matinez - Lyon - F - (g)

2009
Supervues - Vaison-la-Romaine - F - (p)
Nanky de Vreeze Project - Middelburg - NL - (g)
Chapelle de la visitation - Condrieu - F - (p)
Paris Concret - Paris - F - (g)
Galerie Helene Lamarque - Miami - USA- (g)
Galerie Roger Katwijk - Amsterdam - NL - (g)
ArtAmsterdam - Galerie Roger Katwijk - NL - (g)
Galerie José Martinez - Lyon - F - (g)

2008
Galerie José Martinez - Lyon - F - ( p)
SLICK 08 - Galerie Vanessa Suchar - Paris - F - (g)
GKG Bonn - Non-objective art - Bonn - D - (g)
Mews42/Vanessa Suchar - London confidencial - London - GB (g)
Art Paris - Vanessa Suchar - Paris - F (g)
BKHF Gallery - Miami - USA (g)
Galerie Roger Katwijk - Amsterdam - NL (g)

2007
ArtRotterdam - Le Besset/ Parc de sculptures - NL - (p)
Galerie Guy Bärtschi - Geneva - CH - (g)
Vanessa Suchar/ Le salon for art collectors - Paris - F - (g)
ArtAmsterdam - Galerie Krijger+Katwijk - Amsterdam - NL - (g)
- Le Besset / Parc de sculptures - St Jaure d'Andaure - F - (g)
Le Besset / Parc de sculptures - St Jaure d'Andaure - F - (g)
Galerie Krijger+Katwijk - Amsterdam - NL - (g)
Galerie Roger Katwijk - Amsterdam - NL - ( With Johannes Girardoni)
SLICK 07 - MEWS42/Vanessa Suchar - Paris - F - (g)
Paul Dini Museum - Villefranche/ Saone - F - (g)
Eyestorm Gallery - London - GB - ( with Tom Fecht & Linda Karshan)
MEWS42/ Vanessa Suchar - London - GB - ( with Cedric Christie)

2006
Galerie Guy Bärtschi - Geneva - CH - (p)
Bridge art fair - Vanessa Suchar/Le salon for Art collectors - Miami - USA - (g)
Lincart - San Francisco - USA - (g)
Slick 01 - Vanessa Suchar/ Le salon for art collectors - Paris - F - (g)
ART(212) - Vanessa Suchar/ Le salon for art colectors - New York - USA - (g)
Vanessa Suchar/ le salon for art collectors - London - GB - (g)
Galerie Lausberg - Dusseldorf - D - (g)
Galerie Lukas Feichtner- Vienna- A- (g)
Galerie Metropolis- Lyon- F- (g)
ArtRotterdam- Le Besset/ Parc de sculptures- NL- (g)
Vanessa suchar/ le salon for art collectors- London- GB- (g)
Le Besset/Parc de sculptures- St Jaure d' Andaure- F- (g)
Kunstrai - ArtAmsterdam - Galerie Krijger+Katwijk - Amsterdam - NL - (g)
Galerie Schmitt - Insbruck-Hall - A - (g)
Palmbeach 3- Auden Galerie+Globalartaffairs- USA- (g)

2005
Ludwig Museum- Koblenz- D- (g)
Paul Dini Museum- Villefranche/Soane- F- (g)
Scope Miami- Vanessa Suchar/ Le salon for art collectors- USA- (p)
Galerie Metropolis- Lyon- F- (g)
PanAmsterdam- galerie Krijger+katwijk- Amsterdam- NL- (g)
Kunstzurich- Auden Galerie+ Globbalartsaffairs- Zurich- CH- (g)
La lune en parachute- Centre d' Art- Epinal- F- (p)
Le salon for Art Collectors- Vanessa Suchar- Paris- F- (g)
Kunstrai- Galerie Krijger+Katwijk- Amsterdam- NL- (g)
Le Besset- St Jaure d' Andaure- F- (g)
Galerie Lausberg-Dusseldorf- D- (g)
ArtFrankfurt- Globalartaffairs- NY- (g)

2004
ArtRotterdam- Le Besset- NL- (g)
In the Mood for light- Marconi- Brussels- B- (g)
Red- Galerie Pimm Van Der Donk- Hamburg- D- (g)
ArtFrankfurt- Globalartaffairs- NY- D- (g)
Galerie BMG- Brussels- B-(p)
Galerie Krijger+Katwijk- Amsterdam- NL- (g)
Galerie Pimm Van Der Donk- Hamburg- D- (p)
galerie Arti Capelli- St Hertorenbosch- NL- (g)

2003
Galerie Nanky de Vreeze- Amsterdam- NL- (p)
Galerie BMG- Brussels- B- (g)
Le Besset- St Jaure d' Andaure- F- (g)
Scope Miami- Le salon for Art Collectors- Vanessa Suchar- USA- (g)
ArtRotterdam- Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- NL- (g)
Kunstrai- Galerie Nanky de Vreeze- Le Besset- NL- (g)
HVC Brugmann- Brussels- B- (g)
Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- F- (p)

2002
ArtBrussels- Galerie Guy Bartschi- Geneva- B- (p)
Kunstrai- Galerie Nanky de Vreeze- NL- (g)
ArtRotterdam- Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- NL- (g)
Galerie BMG- Brussels- B- (g)
Galerie Nanky de Vreeze- Amsterdam- NL- (g)
Le salon for Art Collectors- Vanessa Suchar- London- GB- (g)
Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- F- (p)

2001
Artissima Turino- Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- I- (g)
Musée Paul Dini- Villefranche/soane- F- (g)
Galerie Akié Arichi- Paris- F- (p)
ArtParis- Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- F- (g)
Salon de Mars- Genève- Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- CH- (g)
Galerie Guy Bartschi- Geneva- CH- (g)

2000
ArtParis- Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- F- (g)
Galerie Guy Bartschi- Geneva- CH- (g)

1999
Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- F- (p)
Galerie Uta Goppelsroder- Bretten- D- (g)
Galerie Olivier Houg- Lyon- F- (g)

1998
Musée Hébert- Grenoble- F- (g)
Galerie Guy Bartschi- Geneva- CH (g)

1997
Centro d'Arte La Pescaoila- Pisa- I- (g)
Galerie Nelly L' Eplattenier- Lausanne- CH- (p)
Galerie Guy Bartschi- Geneva- CH- (g)

1996
Galerie du Manoir- La Chaux de Fonds- CH- (p)
Galerie Guy Bartschi- Geneva- CH- (g)
Le gymnase- La Chaux de Fonds- CH- (p)

1995
Galerie Guy Bartschi- Geneva- CH- (g)
CNIT- Essec- Paris- (p)
Galerie Patrick Gaultier- Quimper- F (p)
LeoTony Gallery- New-York- USA- (g)

1994
LeoTony Gallery- New-York- USA- (p)
MAD- Lausanne- CH- (p)
L'AAG- St Cannat- F- (g)

Collections.
Musée Paul Dini- Villefranche/soane
Akzo Nobel Foundation. Amsterdam
Artothèque de Lyon.
Artothèque de Villeurbanne.
Artothèque d' Annecy.
Banque Insinger de Beaufort. Den Haag
Delta air line
Inter American development Bank. Chicago
City of Villeurbanne.
College of Vienne.
City of Lyon.
Lyonnaise de Banque.
Rhone-Poulenc.
De Sede AG. Zurich
(p) One man show. (g) Group shows.

Chromotube ou la mutation d'un espace

Le temps d'une couleur, l'objet sculptural Chromotube suspend notre pensée à la ré-interprétation d'un objet du quotidien.
Détourné de son sens, de sa fonction, de son caractère le fluide de l'architecture utilitaire banal balise les chemins de sa mutation
vers un nouveau statut, une perception modifiée, une possession de l'espace revisitée.
les vrombissements des quatre cents chevaux à quatre mille tour du moteur de mon animal féroce fustigent l'adrénaline
contenue pendant l'instant d'une accélération. Le vent coiffant la carrosserie bleue métallisée du noble mobile abdique à chaque ligne
droite. Les décélérations impressionnantes avant chaque virage offrent la promesse d'un renouveau chromatique. Sensation.
L' humidité stagnante polychrome du circuit se dresse en miroir du paysage environnant, la forme convexe de la chaussée modifie les proportions
du champs imprégné par la rapidité du contre champs monochrome. Réflexion.
Le canal suivit depuis la ligne départ jusqu'à la ligne d'arrivée exhibe un carré dans un carré, puis le carré porté par ma main
s'envole pour une destination inconnue. Translation.
Le temps d'un rêve, une couleur seule ne revendique-t-elle pas l'entière responsabilité de l'entrée dans un mécanisme de transformation de la
simple réalité quotidienne?
Paul Raguenes - Février 2011

[Mono]spy@rchi[chrome]

Il m'a été donné de suivre le parcours artistique de Paul Raguenes, de loin en proche, depuis le début des années quatre-vingt dix. La voie qu'il a choisie est celle de l'épuration et du refus des faux-semblants. Nous pouvons l'observer en lettres sur miroirs plus au moins teints où ressort la phrase: "I NEVER LOOK WHAT I SEE" au sein de la série des Miroirs gravés. Est-ce repenser "Ceci n'est pas une pipe!" de René Magritte?Le chemin parcouru depuis les premiers papiers poudrés fut une sorte de prélude aux Monochromes des années 2000. Je me souviens d'une visite d'atelier, à Condrieu, durant laquelle Paul m'exposait ses vues quant à sa vision artistique, entouré de créations récentes en séchage. Nous avons passé une grande partie de la nuit à observer et déplacer des œuvres afin de créer des associations chromatiques et de format. Il en est ressorti que l'autonomisation du châssis peint à l'huile et poudré pouvait être autant peinture que sculpture.Il allait de soi que l'évolution de l'art de Paul Raguenes tendrait à polir sa technique. Que de questionnements ont été formulés pour que ce concept simple, mais ô combien complexe à mettre en œuvre, utilisant le matériau réfléchissant par excellence, le miroir, puisse aboutir . Le but de sa démarche est de signifier à l'observateur que l'objectivité est toute relative et peut être déjouée à tout instant. Il nous suffit pour preuve de se mouvoir dans l'espace d'exposition et de regarder les modifications visuelles qu'oblige la médiatisation des œuvres. Les espaces se transforment à chacun de nos pas. Les jeux de lumière influencent notre perception, à l'instar des volumes qui ne cessent d'être redessinés. C'est une façon très élégante de nous faire prendre conscience de la subjectivité de la perspective, tel que nous l'a déjà proposé Leon Battista Alberti avec son De Pictura (1435). A la différence de ce dernier, la saturation en image que notre époque nous impose ne nous permet pas toujours d'avoir à l'esprit que nous pouvons et devons nous positionner, prendre parti, faire des choix qui nécessitent des renonciations et également de grandes libérations.Paul Raguenes, par sa rigueur d'exécution et le fil rouge visible dans l'ensemble de son œuvre, tend à signaler à celui qui ne veut pas être dupe de perceptions standardisées, voire biaisées, qui limitent et normalisent le réel, peuvent faire l'effort de s'arracher aux contingences édictées par la saturation visuelle que nous inflige notre société de consommation. Belle leçon, à la manière d'un livre d'images du début du vingtième siècle à l'attention des têtes blondes en culotte courte ; l'artiste, ici, nous invite à décrypter les signes, mais aussi à modifier nos repères et par voies de conséquence, à éduquer notre regard, nous forcer à réfléchir, à nous réfléchir.Thierry Weber, Lausanne, le 21 octobre 2008

Paul Raguenes - All that appears in one color is not monochrome

The work of Paul Raguenes is much more complex than a brief discussion of monochromes can allow. Fortunately so, because his works can be mistaken for monochromes, although, conceptually, they present a broader reality. They are about perception, experience, expression and analysis. As an introduction to his work, we could juxtapose important statements from the artist and Robert Delaunay.
In 2002/ 2003 Raguenes said:
"The light-sensitive retina of the eyes takes in information, which is simultaneously conveyed to the brain. A relentless mechanism. Two worlds are in immediate relation to each other as a result: The external world with its light and the inner light with its memory."
"The soul is transmitted from the invisible past to the visible present."
In 1912 Robert Delaunay said:
"Our eyes are the essential sensitivity between nature and our soul. It is in our eyes that the present take place and as a consequence our sensitivity"
These two quotations show that the visual perceptions of the world and our interior world, or soul, are immediately connected. The eyes and, by extension, the artwork are the vehicle between the outer and the inner world, but also between the worlds of the artist and the viewer. In fact, this is a very classic definition of art as a means of communication, and we shall see that it fits quite perfectly the contemporary work of Paul Raguenes.
Raguenes’ three work groups – the paintings, the Monospy series and the Lettered Leaf Layers, as I like to call them - as different as they are esthetically and technically, all have three traits in common:
First, in all of the works the process of "interiorization," i.e. understanding and feeling the work as a viewer, takes place through reflection and through the process of a gradual perception. Gradual perception corresponds to the layering of pigment, glass or paper.
Second, they all create a tension between a transparent space or spatiality and an opaque surface. This tension illustrates the connection of mind and materiality that is so crucial for art to have an esthetic impact.
Third, the esthetic impact equals the emotional impetus. While being formally very stringent the expressive qualities of his art are undeniable and thus the question arises as to where this expressiveness comes from.
Looking at the paintings, which are often titled according to the main pigment used, the viewer will initially behold a monochrome surface. From there our associations are deliberately fooled, thinking of Klein or Ryman. In fact, Raguenes wants us to start questioning our perception and look closer. Upon closer examination one will find indeed that the surface is not a plane surface, but composed of myriads of velvety pigment spheres, each sphere creating a different effect of light and shadow in interplay with the adjacent sphere and dependent on the viewpoint. Going even deeper, one will notice how there is not just one layer of color, but several layers employing several different colors. In extreme cases he covers a bright orange with a dark blue to the effect that the dark blue will be the only apparent color and the orange will only shine through around the edges, giving us a hint of what lies beneath. This layering forces us to reconsider not only what we see, but also what and how we think about it. The interiorization or familiarization with a Raguenes painting is a slow process, similar to the careful powdering of the surface with pigment.
The tension between a transparent space and the opaque surface is perhaps not as obvious as in a Monospy or in the Lettered Leaf Layers, but it is strong nonetheless. The surface color, frequently a primary color close to black, is of such intensity and the surface structure so matte that it seems to swallow as much light as it reflects. In one moment we can see a colored surface, a clear boundary to our gaze, and in the next moment the boundary gives way to an infinite space. The material allows the mind literally to delve into it.
This creates a huge esthetic impact similar in intensity to what one would feel in front of a cushion painting by Graubner or facing one of Rothko’s color fields, except that Raguenes’ paintings are much smaller. The paintings through their materiality in particular possess a cruel sensuality: You desire to touch them or to be between their layers and explore the color, but you instinctively know that this will destroy the painting.
The Monospy has a different effect. The rectangular or square format stays, but it gets bigger, and the pigment is replaced by tinted glass or mirror surfaces. The sculptural and freestanding Monospy is an agent of color intruding into our physical space and thus into our perceptual space much more than the paintings. Here the interiorization through reflection is taken literally. Our perception and our thought process is based on the reflection we get from the judiciously positioned Monospies. Thus they must not be taken as stand-alone sculptures, but as catalysts in a reaction between the viewer and the environment which the viewer and the sculpture share. What is interesting is that they become site-specific if they are combined in a room with the paintings. Otherwise they will work in any environment because no environment is free of color and structure. Even if they were to be installed in the proverbial white cube, the tinted glass and architecturally archetypical right angle would introduce these elements as reference points.
The tension between transparent space and opaque surface is the most obvious but also the most ambiguous here. It is clear that the tinted glass panes create a transparent space between each other. However, that space is impenetrable to the viewer. You can see through it, but you cannot get inside. With the mirrors, there is an opposite effect. The mirrors are opaque to light and the space between the mirrors is dead black, so to say. However, the space in which the mirror and the viewer are becomes transparent because, thanks to the mirror, you can now look in both directions - forward and backward.
If in the paintings the expressive quality may come from an emotional or intellectual association with a certain color, its stimulus being triggered by the color’s intensity, the expressivity of the Monospies is caused by their experimental and playful character. They cause us to probe our own space and cope with shifts in color perception when we look through the glass. It is like a painting that has dissolved itself into light and space without the substance of pigment. So the Monospies can be said to source its expressiveness from a dreamlike lightness of being in contrast to the physically smaller paintings that are emotionally more imposing.
Just as the paintings are emotional, and the Monospies treacherous, so also the Lettered Leaf Layers are cerebral. They are intellectual works in the literal sense of having to be read to be perceived. The sign and signifier relation to the paintings and Monospies is a direct one. The color is what it appears to be even if there are subjacent layers or tinted shadows; the color and its material are coherent as a representation. In the Lettered Leaf Layers Raguenes uses three superposed sheets of milky polyester foil, and he prints the names of colors on them in seven languages. The trick is that the name of the color is never printed in the corresponding ink color. We can thus read the color orange and connote the color orange in the word "Orange," but the actual color of the letters used to make up the word "Orange" would be blue. While this sounds simple it is very confusing because it introduces a schism between the meaning of the word and its appearance. To add to the viewer’s puzzlement the artist then layers the words behind the veiling milky sheets of polyester. So as we try to comprehend the work, chasing it down layer by layer, the words, colors and meanings get more and more cloudy. Finally, in the third layer, we are granted a comic relief because the cloudiest and most deeply buried word appears in what we think is the appropriate color. But by then, can we still be sure?
In this series of works the concepts of transparent space, opaque surface and color perception are brought to a sort of culmination because the tension between these three poles is in perfect equilibrium.
The emotional impetus and esthetic impact are perhaps the least intense because they are not as visually striking as the Monospies and paintings. But the intellectual nature of our preoccupation with these works also brings them closer to language and thought which are both past and present vehicles of the soul.
The art of Paul Raguenes strikes a perfect balance between emotional expressivity, formal stringency, esthetic validity and intellectual challenge. It builds a bridge between the senses and the mind. It becomes indeed the missing link of communication between the artist, the viewer and the world around us by playing with our perceptions and our feelings, triggered by something as deceptively simple as color.
Till Richter(october 2007)

paul raguenes blog - exhibition online

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