The Art of Printmaking

Agathe Bouton is a French artist living and working in the Philadelphia area whose boundary-pushing printmaking and paper works exhibit influence from living and working in international cities across the globe. We got to talk with her about her love of architecture, textiles, color and printmaking.

1: Tell us more about yourself: where did you grow up, study and when did you come to the States?

I grew up just outside Paris and studied Applied Art and fine Art at École Superior d’Art Appliques, Dupperre, in Paris. The training was very broad, and so I could try my hand at everything: painting, etching, sculpture, ceramic, photography etc. I have a B.F.A. in Painting, and an MFA in Textile Design. I came to the US in late summer 2014 to follow my husband in his career.

2: When did you first decide you wanted to be an artist? How do you think your upbringing and personal life have affected your work and art?

I was born into an artistic family just outside Paris, France. Very early I knew I wanted to do something with my hands. My father, a visual artist, found a small place for me in his studio and sometimes he would bring me with him to paint outside. My path was traced!

My travels from one continent to another forced me to adapt my technique of printmaking. I left Europe 15 years ago and for 11 years I had no printmaking studio. At first, I mourned the fact I had to leave everything behind, but the loss of my press gave me the strength to go beyond my fears and I had to reinterpret myself. Sometimes it was challenging but it definitely strengthened my creativity.

3: Tell us more about your interest in paper and printmaking? How did you discover these mediums and what do you love most about them?

I discovered printmaking during my art studies but it was later after I graduated that I came back to it and fell totally in love with it.

I like that printmaking is very manual, not far from being a craft, and I love to combine the different techniques. I love to work with paper which gives a sort of lightness to the practice. Painting on canvas always intimidated me but working on paper gives me a certain freedom that I don’t get with other mediums.

4. I know you are also very interested in architecture, color and textiles - could you tell us how these interests influence and show up in your work?

I have loved cities since my childhood : growing up in Paris; visiting my Grandparents’ Le Corbusier apartment; watching Jacques Tati’s films with their playful modernism. I continue to be inspired by the urbanism I see around me in the US.

Whether the building be a new block of offices or apartments, or an abandoned warehouse, an old administrative center, or a half-demolished home – I am drawn to the history and lives they evoke, as well as their intrinsic beauty - whether that beauty comes from design or degradation, or some combination of the two. My latest artworks are interpretations of these buildings – sometimes in detail, sometimes with a broader view. These urban landscapes with their grand facades, their patchworks of broken windows, their color palette, the reflections sometimes of other buildings sometimes of the sky. These artworks are intended to evoke reflections on the lives lived within these spaces, and in finding beauty, making beauty, in the urbanism that surrounds us.

Color has always had an important place in my work, which has often focused on a modern approach to engraving and print art. And as for textile I guess it’s a continuation from my studies. Also, my first professional experience was with a fashion house in Paris then I switched into home interior design so I guess there will be always a part of me interested by textile. This naturally changed to a more artistic approach. And then my travels around the world to meet different cultures and people is a rich source of inspiration.

5. It seems that you have a very unique process - can you describe how you create your works and why/how your process differs from traditional printmaking?

With time and maturity, I left traditional techniques of printmaking for a more contemporary way of printing. I work mostly with monotypes at the moment, it gives me an immediate result without having all the work you usually do with engraving plates etc. I really love experimenting and mixing different techniques together. My prints are all unique, a bit like a painter I have series of work in different styles, colors, subjects, each with their own identity.

6. What do you hope people will do, think or feel when they see your art?

I hope they will find peace and beauty. A sense of quietness and serenity.

7. What do you love most about being an artist and what is the most challenging?

Very selfishly I love being able to do a job I like. Of course, it has his challenges and I found it challenging that artists need to always be connected, to market their work, and to be present on social media. We ask artists to multi-task and sometimes it doesn’t give you enough time for your creation, it’s a difficult balance to find.

8. What projects are you currently working on and do you have any specific plans for the future (that haven’t been affected by COVID-19)?

I had 3 exhibitions planned for this Spring and for one of them the curator of the show had asked me for some new works on top of what she had already selected. I was finishing some pieces in March when the lockdown caught me in the middle of the work. At the beginning of the quarantine, I found it difficult to be in my studio and find energy to work but after a few weeks I pushed myself forwards and went beyond my fears and stress and I’m happy to have completed some larger works.

I was approached by a gallery early this year in Philadelphia and signed a contract of representation with them and I’m very excited – though unfortunately my solo show has had to be postponed until the end of the year. The quarantine gave me the time to tidy my studio, reflect on my past series of work, as well as spending more time listening to artists’ podcasts, searching for new ideas etc.

I will see what 2021 will bring, 2019 was a very busy year, the end of this year if everything goes well will be pretty busy too and I’m happy to live day by day at the moment.

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Learn more about Agathe and view her work here.

Featured Artist of the Month: May 2020