Natale Adgnot (b. 1974) is a Franco-American artist who uses abstract sculpture and installation to explore cognitive bias and logical fallacy. Adgnot creates wall sculptures made of painted thermoplastic that is adhered perpendicularly onto panels, incorporating a variety of materials that are emblematic of her personal history whilst exploring visual perception.
It was the experience of making garments for haute couture runways that led to the focus on sculpture, and it was whilst living in Tokyo that she began using thermoplastic. “I use abstract sculpture to explore bias and faulty perception. At its core, my practice is a dismantling of the conservative dogma of my childhood. The daughter of a horse trainer in Texas, I was raised with limited awareness of the world beyond my town and church. My exposure to differing viewpoints came later while living in France and Japan.”
Often beginning with a black and white line drawing from her sketchbook, Adgnot re interprets the sketches as sculptures by extruding the lines up from the surface. By mounting these sculptural details perpendicular to the panel, the resulting object takes on a multitude of appearances depending on the observer’s viewpoint, challenging the notion that the truth can be fully known from a fixed perspective.
Adgnot’s work also refers to disparate chapters of her life through the utilization of different materials. They include horsehair as a nod to Texas, fabric from her time working in Paris couture, and washi paper representing Japan. In homage to the multiculturalism of New York,
she employs the versatile material of thermoplastic to create elements that are sometimes mounted sideways on panels like glass fins, other times sewn into leather or piercing translucent organza. The material’s ability to take on many shapes and adopt a multitude of appearances denotes the expansiveness of humanity.
Natale Adgnot works and resides in Brooklyn and New Paltz, NY. Her work is held in
private collections in France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.
Shop Natale Adgnot at Newel
Our Interview with Natale Adgnot
What inspired you to become an artist, and what motivated you to pursue this career path?
I’m one of those people who always knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. I knew I wanted to be an artist but I took a winding path to get there. For a number of reasons, both financial and cultural, I studied design and worked in the fields of graphic design and fashion before finally taking the plunge and getting an art studio in 2014. Even though my dream was always to be an artist, it seemed so unattainable. Design was a way to make a living even though it was frustrating not to pursue my real goal. I look back on those past experiences now with gratitude and realize that they all led me to where I am now.
Do you have a favorite artist and why?
I love the work of Louise Nevelson. I’m drawn to the geometry and hard edges present in her wood installation work and I respect her as a pioneering woman sculptor. Her restrained palette – almost always working in monochromatic black, white or gold – allowed her diverse salvaged materials to combine into harmonious compositions of shadows and textures.
How would you describe your creative process, and what techniques or mediums do you enjoy using the most?
I have a very process-heavy approach to my work. I love experimenting with materials and using them in unexpected ways, testing their limits and figuring out how to make objects that don’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before. For the past few years, I’ve been pushing a specific material to its limits. I use a type of thermoplastic (an artist-grade shrink plastic) to produce multiples of very lightweight shapes that I affix in arrays to panels, fabric, or other surfaces. I’ve been experimenting with how they work with acrylics, enamel paints, and various fibers. It’s exciting to explore a material that doesn’t have an existing canon of masters like with oil painting or stone carving. That means there’s no right or wrong way to make my work.
What themes or messages do you hope to convey through your art, and what kind of emotions do you want your audience to experience when they view your work?
All of my work is centered on questions of perception, especially where human nature leads us down paths where we aren’t able to see the truth. Ideally, people who encounter my work for the first time will question what they’re looking at, asking themselves how it’s made and taking a moment to consider it from multiple perspectives. That’s a metaphor for my desire to see all of us – myself included – slow down and question our prejudices and first impressions.
Can you share a specific project or piece that you are particularly proud of, and what makes it meaningful to you?
When I was living in Paris and was still working as a graphic designer, I somehow had the chutzpah to make my own wedding dress without any of the required skills. I made that dress with only intuition and a yearning to create things with my hands, not my computer. The resulting garment is nothing to be proud of on a technical level. In fact, it wasn’t well made at all. But that was the project that launched me into the next phase of my life. Thanks to that experience, I quit my job shortly thereafter, went to fashion school, and began taking strides towards a life that more closely resembled my dreams.
What was the first project you worked on?
My first project as a professional artist was a series called Minerals. These acrylic paintings were as much a research project as an art project. They were an exploration of bias and stereotyping. Using mineralogy as a framework, I assigned famous faces to represent mineral properties such as color (Barry White), hardness (Clint Eastwood) and cleavage (Dolly Parton). The series was later adapted to a Japanese audience while I was living there. Even though it took a few years for me to discover that my passion was really sculpture, this project helped me understand just how important deep research and symbolism are to my practice as an artist.
How do you stay inspired and motivated, and what advice would you give to aspiring artists who are just starting out?
If I have any advice that is worth giving, it’s to be bold and take chances. Willingness to take calculated risks and to make mistakes that you can learn from are critical to forging a path that hasn’t been laid out before you by someone else.
What do you like to do in your free time/ outside of work?
It’s probably cliché, but my free time is almost always filled with the art of other people, whether it’s visiting galleries or watching movies. If I’m not doing something art-related, I’m probably enjoying a good meal. Fine cuisine is one art form I have no desire to study; only to consume!
How would you define your work in three words?
Abstract, graphic, mixed-media.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be an artist.
