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

Biography

Agnès Thurnauer was born in 1962, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where she continues to live and work. She attended the

École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (; ÉnsAD) also known as Arts Decos' and École des Arts décoratifs, is a public grande école of art and design, constituent member of PSL Research University. The school is located in the R ...

, where she studied

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

and

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...

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. 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. In a 2024 article titled "Big-big et Bang-bang: Agnès Thurnauer" published in Art Critique, the artist’s early series is described as a “pictorial rupture” which the artist herself considers a "pre-language period" in her practice.”

Portraits grandeur nature (2007—2009)

In 2007, Thurnauer first exhibited her work ''Portraits grandeur nature'', a series of oversized

buttons A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, o ...

(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 Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

becomes Marcelle Duchamp and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

becomes Annie Warhol. An exception is the button reading Louis Bourgeois, a masculinized version of the name of the artist

Louise Bourgeois Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...

. This work, which questions both the literal and figurative representation of women in art, propelled her to previously unattained notoriety as an artist.

Prédelles (2007—2011)

Beginning in 2007, Thurnauer produced a series of works, called ''Prédelle'' (the French term for

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

). The ''Grande Prédelle ''incarnations, produced from 2008 to 2011, are

diptych A diptych (, ) is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by a hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a ...

s, each depicting a large feathered wing along a deformation of the iconic title of the magazine ''Elle''. The title and subject convey a multiple play on words, simultaneously acting as a

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...

for "''près d'elle''" and "''aile''", respectively meaning "close to her" and "wing" in French. Cyclicly, each ''Grande Prédelle'' painting has its own palette glued to it as a finishing touch.

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 Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

('' 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. 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 The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

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 ''A Bar at the Folies-Bergère'' () is a painting by Édouard Manet, considered to be his last major work. It was painted in 1882 and exhibited at the Paris Salon of that year. It depicts a scene in the Folies Bergère nightclub in Paris. The pa ...

'', ''

The Railway ''The Railway'', widely known as ''Gare Saint-Lazare'', is an 1873 painting by Édouard Manet. It is the last painting by Manet of his favourite model, the fellow painter Victorine Meurent, who was also the model for '' Olympia'' and the '' Lu ...

''(of painter Victorine Louise Meurent)'','' and another portrait of Meurent. 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. This marked the first time that Thurnauer's work was shown in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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.

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. She has stated that she is interested in working with

paint Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

, 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. She has been considered as a distant successor to the

Art & Language Art & Language is an English conceptual artists' collaboration that has undergone many changes since it was created around 1967. The group was founded by artists who shared a common desire to combine intellectual ideas and concerns with the cre ...

movement. 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)

* 2001 ''Pour en venir au monde'', Le Crédac,

Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Paris's main Asian district, the Quartier Asiatique in the 13th arrondissement, borders the ...

, France * 2003 ''Les circonstances ne sont pas atténuantes'',

Palais de Tokyo The Palais de Tokyo (''Tokyo Palace'') is a building dedicated to modern and contemporary art, located at 13 avenue du Président-Wilson, facing the Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The eastern wing of the building belongs to ...

, Paris * 2003 ''Maintenant avant après'', Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris * 2004 ''Don't pretend you've never heard of it'', Springhornhof, Neuekirchen, Germany * 2005 ''I will survive'', Wim Reiff Gallery, Maastricht, Netherlands * 2006'' Around a round'', Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris * 2007 ''Bien faite, mal faite, pas faite'', S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium * 2008 ''Portraits grandeur nature'', Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris * 2009 ''Thurnauer à Angers'', Musée des beaux-arts d'Angers, Angers, France * 2010 ''May I?'', Villa Emerige, Paris * 2011 ''Manifestement'', Espace d'Art Contemporain André Malraux, Colmar, France * 2011 ''Sujet, verbe et compléments'', Immanence, Paris * 2014 ''Figure libre'', Le Radar, Centre d'art Contemporain, Bayeux, France * 2014 ''Now When Then - de Tintoret à Tuymans'', Musée des beaux-arts de Nantes, Nantes * 2014 ''Sleepwalking'', Galerie de Roussan, Paris * 2015 ''You'', Jesus College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK * 2016 ''A History of Painting'',

Château de Montsoreau-Museum of contemporary art The Château de Montsoreau-Museum Contemporary Art is a private museum open to the public in Montsoreau, France. It opened 8 April 2016. The permanent collection exhibited at Château de Montsoreau The Château de Montsoreau is a Flamboyant ...

Montsoreau Montsoreau () is a commune of the Loire Valley in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast and from Paris. The village is listed among '' The Most Beautiful Villages of France'' () and is part of t ...

, France

Group exhibitions (selected)

* 2004

FIAC The Paris International Contemporary Art Fair (Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain or FIAC) is a contemporary art event that occurs in Paris. History FIAC was started by gallery owneDaniel Gervistogether with artisBengt Olsonand was usually ...

, Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris * 2005 ''Biennale de Lyon'', Lyon * 2006 ''Notre histoire'', Palais de Tokyo, Paris * 2009 '' elles@centrepompidou'', Centre Pompidou, Paris * 2013 '' Drawing Now'', Carrousel du Louvre, Paris * 2013 ''Lunch with Olympia'', Edgewood Gallery, Yale School of Art, USA * 2013 ''Jardin de langage'', Fondation Poppy et Pierre Salinger, Thor * 2013 ''Elles: Mulheres artistas na coleção do Centro Pompidou'', CCBB, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * 2014 ''"G I R L"'', Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris * 2014 ''Drawing Now'', Carreaux du temple, Paris * 2014 ''A bitter sweet legacy'', Galierie de Roussan, Paris * 2014 ''Cet obscur objet du désir- Autour de l'Origine du monde'', Musée Gustave Courbet, Ornans, France

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurnauer, Agnes Living people 1962 births École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs alumni French women painters Feminist artists French contemporary artists 21st-century French women artists 20th-century French women