Thierry Agnone

My artistic practice for the past twenty-five years has consisted mainly in drawing (Rotring 01, felt-tip, coloured pencil) and sculpture (polyester resin, assemblages of plastic elements, engravings on cardboard, paper stilettos). Two years ago, I decided to put my work into perspective and to take new risks by tackling the prodigious and wonderful task of translating my world into painting. The first step consisted in choosing my technical specifications, mediums, formats, and painting technique. After a period of six months or so, during which I found myself floundering in my studio trying to build a meaningful backbone and to eliminate the excesses specific to the discipline, I gradually freed myself of the disruptive elements of my practice as if I were inventing a new vocabulary, following which I decided to produce a series of fifteen large-format canvases (140 x 190 cm) and a series of large drawings.
Then I was hit by a literary obviousness: Dante’s Inferno would be my unifying theme – not to illustrate the book or to use as straightforward inspiration, but as an allegory that would underscore my work and serve as my Ariadne’s thread, my safeguard, and my driving force.
2017