Agathe Larpent

Deep colors

May 4 - June 6, 2013

Agathe Larpent. Turquoise crucible, stoneware, 2013.

Whether working in stoneware or porcelain, Agathe Larpent inhabits the space of a singular ceramic expression. To speak of a plastic approach is not an empty word here: clay is metamorphosed, materials and colors blended with the sole aim of appealing to the senses.
The works presented - crucibles and bas-reliefs - specially created for this solo exhibition at Galerie de l'Ancienne Poste, are a continuation of the installation conceived in summer 2012 at the Prieuré de Salagon (Alpes de Haute-Provence). A recognized artist for over thirty years, Agathe Larpent is represented in the collections of major museums and the Fonds National d'Art Contemporain.

In Agathe Larpent's hands, earth is color. We temporarily leave foamy whites and celadons for the strong, complementary colors of reds and greens. Powerful, dark, unique and the fruit of a curious alchemy, Creusets and Reliefs, in stoneware and porcelain, catch the light, speak of the deep and the sky.
The Acanthus Reliefs echo medieval gardens and the ethno-botanical garden at Salagon Abbey. Moulded alive, the flower curls up to form a pattern linking plant and mineral.
Agathe's first Creusets date back to 2000 and her exhibition at the Musée Ziem in Martigues. Their material is thick, split and laminated, on the verge of breaking. They probe minerality and form a symbolic link between the timeless and the constructed. They are the rocks, hollowed out by time, that collect rainwater and reflect the sky. The lustrous water where the hair of green ondines moves to the upper lips of the shadowy conch (Julien Gracq). They are the heart, the cloister and the fountain, of the Romanesque monasteries that were his recent exhibition venues (Boscodon in 2011 and Salagon in 2012). Water and light give these earthen stones a spiritual landscape, green and mossy for some, sanguine and deeply human for others.
Stéphanie Le Follic-Hadida
Doctor of Art History
Exhibition curatoron.