During the Month of Photography OFF, Stéphane Chatry presented Galerie G with an exhibition of urban photographs, video projections and original works by artist L’ATLAS“L’ATLAS IS HERE“.
ATLAS, the nickname given by the street to its artistic identity, sets the tone from the outset: art comes from the earth, from the soil, and finds its meaning there. Condemned by Zeus to eternally bear the weight of the heavens on his shoulders, Atlas is a Titan from Greek mythology. A Titan of urban art, the artist later adds an apostrophe L, referring to the god of creation in Near Eastern mythology on the one hand, and the single pencil stroke in Chinese calligraphy on the other.
Fondation Cartier
A worthy exponent of urban art, L’ATLAS works were featured at L’invention du monde at the Centre Georges Pompidou in 2004, the Graphology exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in 2007 and, above all, the two 2009 exhibitions clearly dedicated to urban art: Né dans la rue at the Fondation Cartier and TAG at the Grand Palais.
Toiles Errantes
Testifying to the artist’s monumental works in situ in the various cities he has visited around the world, the photographs on display are a record of his personal journey. A street artist at heart, the street has always been his field of expression. Since his early days in the world of graffiti, the artist has liked to inscribe his name in the places he passes through, to leave a trace of his passage beyond time, as well as enjoying the simple pleasure of affixing his signature.
D'un monde à l'autre 2008
Rejecting an overly conformist life, L’ATLAS abandoned his studies in art history to devote himself fully to his love of writing. He moved to Morocco to study the art of Arabic calligraphy with a classical master. He then moved to Egypt to study with a modern master who taught him to break the established rules. On his return to Paris, L’ATLAS transposed the tradition of the ancestral Arabic gesture using contemporary materials such as spray paint and scotch tape, on supports such as canvas and posters.
Labyrinthe
By reinterpreting the Latin alphabet and subjecting it to the techniques of Koufi, a geometric Arabic script, L’ATLAS invents a script that is both personal and universal, highly graphic, a new calligraphy for which he holds the codes and keys. This new, visually powerful script is in keeping with the spirit of contemporary urban art, but constantly refers us back to a recurring motif: the labyrinth as a geography of the word.
L'ATLAS
The writing of the name L’ATLAS becomes a calligraphy in the form of a labyrinth, symbolizing both a carnivorous city where we get lost and a bridge between East and West, furiously echoing the labyrinths of yesteryear, those present in the naves of cathedrals. But instead of pointing us in a precise direction, the artist prefers to lose us in his unplugged and meandering pathways, leading us to reflect on ourselves perhaps, like a long canal leading to introspection.
Centre Georges Pompidou - Paris 2008 © L'ATLAS
Some of L’ATLAS’s works on asphalt are like compasses, with a labyrinthine shape at their center. Executed on the ground, like the one in front of the Centre Pompidou, they seem to urge us not to lose our bearings, transforming the street into an enormous map. Showing us the way, they also question our own path.
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L’ATLAS is a meticulous artist in search of a certain graphic purity. His writing is uncluttered, yet original, with sparing use of color. From his stay in Morocco, the artist has retained a taste for a certain oriental thought according to which duality is a source of complementarity, and has made this a way of life, both in his personal life and in his art, placing the essence of his artistic approach in it.
[caption id="attachment_17044" align="aligncenter" width="384" caption="Autopsy 02"]
A masterful blend of black and white, these works fascinate and hypnotize. The eye follows the curves of these writings traced with adhesive tape, and travels through the labyrinth of the artist’s mind. We soon forget that these are letters or words; each viewer makes his or her own representation and sometimes interpretation. And when he adds red, as in his Autopsy series, it’s almost like seeing the artist’s own blood, the autopsy of his mind.
Empreinte London
ATLAS’s work also seems to be in constant conversation with the street, or more precisely, the ground, the earth. His interlacing of manhole covers, immortalized with spray paint and then printed on black canvas, seem to give us the identity of cities, those that lurk in the shallows yet remain clearly visible. Beyond a certain aesthetic taste, the artist takes a malicious pleasure in making visible the traces of art that we have cleverly concealed.
INDE - JANVIER 2010 New Delhi
Placing his canvases in the street as he wandered, he photographed them – ephemeral traces of his passage forever etched on film, transforming them into wandering canvases. Always seven in number, they travel the world witnessing its reality.
L’ATLASTAR
sent by Imaginez-Maintenant. – Short films and animations.
L’ATLAS is currently taking part in the “ART STARS BY RALPH LAUREN” project, in which 51 international artists are all working with the same medium – the American Star Spangled Banner – as their canvas. Each artist has been commissioned to create something unique, limited only by his or her imagination. All the stars are on display in Polo Jeans Co. stores and will soon be collected for a major exhibition in London. They will then be auctioned in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of young people aged 13 to 24 suffering from cancer.
Calligrapher of the macadam but citizen of the world, that’s what ATLAS is. And just as well, he carries it on his shoulders…
Marie-Odile Radom
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
