Laurent Karagueuzian

Born in 1967 in Roanne, Laurent Karagueuzian developed a passion for art at an early age, particularly for drawing. In 1990, he obtained a DEA in Fine Arts, which he would go on to teach for many years.

Laurent Karagueuzian began with figurative art, particularly using India ink, exploring the movement of leaves as one observes them while lying down. Gradually, more than the movement of the leaves, it was space and the white that captured his interest.

His latest series, Les Papiers Écorchés (The Flayed Papers), is created on paper and marks his transition to abstract art. It is no longer the movement of the leaves that interests him, but the circulation of air between each leaf. The eye is captivated by the different pathways between colors, which unfold before the viewer.

According to Paul Ripoche: “The eyes do not settle on a detail, on a small element, to try to uncover a mystery. They move from one space to another, jump from one color to another, attempting to see better, or rather, attempting to ‘see more.’”

Philippe Brunel notes: “The Flayed Papers evoke a certain fascination. From a distance, they appear as works without center or composition. One senses the memory of American abstract expressionism, but in a purified form, stripped of its excess of paint, color, and lines, where fullness becomes (almost) emptiness, all in reserve. Here, it is the pre-painted paper that is torn from its support, flayed in small pieces.”

The white then emerges among the colors, taking on full significance, allowing the viewer to glimpse the silence of the trees.

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