Untitled, 2008

Joël Andrianomearisoa

Joël Andrianomearisoa is always on the edges. He does not approach his work in a direct way, but places it at the edges of the desires of whomever discovers it. His work comes down to a question of posture. He listens to the pulses of life with more generosity than they are given, and finds a way to be present in the world dans le nu de la vie, in the nude of life.

Urban space is a primary interest as well. The noises, smells, images, lights and incessant movement that generate city life compose his universe without imprisoning him in a specific geographical space. His images take viewers to places even the artist does not expect to be. « I need to be surprised by images. The situation has to be completely staggered. I do not consider myself as a photographer ; I am someone who makes images, » he says.

To compose a work, the artist needs a basic frame. Then the experiments begin, the manipulations that outline the project. « The work arises from various manipulations that lead me to the final result. When I set up an installation, I do not imagine its finality. I know the elements that compose it, but in the intant I set them up I discover something else. And that is when the work makes sense, » Andrianomearisoa says. His poetic virtuosity lies in his capacity to seize this moment of signification, when nobody can tell beginning from end.

MAGNIN-A

MAGNIN-A is a contemporary art gallery founded in 2009 in Paris by André Magnin and directed by Philippe Boutté. They are acknowledged experts in Contemporary and Modern African Art. Sharp eyed for new talents, the MAGNIN-A gallery represents established and emerging artists.

MAGNIN-A works with passion and determination for the promotion and the diffusion of its artists' work on the greatest Arts Fairs and International Exhibitions.

Independent curator since the late 1970's, André Magnin started working on non-western Contemporary Art in 1989 with the historic exhibition " Magiciens de la Terre" at the Centre Pompidou and at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, exhibition for which he was co-curator. He then became the head of the C.A.A.C.-The Pigozzi Collection, the most important collection of African Contemporary Art. During 20 years he shared his life between Europe and Africa. In 1996 he met Philippe Boutté who became his closest collaborator.

André Magnin has organized numerous exhibitions in prestigious museums, Art Centers and Foundations, worldwide: Out of Africa (Saatchi Gallery, London); African Art Now (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston); Malick Sidibé Mali Twist, Beauté Congo, J'aime Chéri Samba (Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, Paris); Les initiés (Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris); Arts of Africa (Grimaldi Forum, Monaco); 100% Africa (Guggenheim, Bilbao); Why Africa ? (Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli); Africa : una nuova storia (Complesso del Vittoriano, Roma); ou encore African Stories (Marrakech); Alighiero e Boe...