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Almine Rech

Joël Andrianomearisoa

Born in 1977 in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Joël Andrianomearisoa lives and works between Paris and Antananarivo. He obtained a degree in architecture from the Ecole Speciale d’Architecture in Paris in 2003. Embracing a large variety of mediums, including installation, drawing, craft, textile, performance, video and photography, his work investigates the materiality of emotions. Driven by his strong interest in human relationships, the artist expresses feelings through matter, textures, forms and atmospheres. Mixing traditional know-how and craftmanship with the sentimentalism of the digital age, his work reintroduces poetry and sentimentality in minimalist tradition. An artist of his time, he considers his work as ongoing exercises, constantly extracting all the possibilities of textiles, silk paper, glass, flowers, and a variety of objects such as mirrors, to create a multi-faceted, polyphonic oeuvre.

Known in particular for his monumental installations, such as I Have Forgotten the Night at the Venice Biennale in 2019 or Brise du rouge soleil on the tower and ramparts of Aigues-Mortes in 2020, Joël Andrianomearisoa probes the emotional possibilities of urban space. At once imposing and fragile, monumental and meticulous, his work draws from Malagasy multiculturalism and tradition. Interested in the notion of non-geography, emblematic of the culturally diverse influences of Madagascar, Andrianomearisoa explores the universality of human experiences through complex, often abstract narrations.  

In 2019, Joël Andrianomearisoa represented the first-ever Madagascar Pavilion at the 58th Venice Art Biennale. His work has been exhibited in leading global institutions including MAXXI, Rome (2018); Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2010); the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC (2015) and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2005) and more recently at the Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town ; the MACAAL, Marrakech (2022) and the Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2021). His work forms part of important international collections including the Smithsonian (Washington DC), The Studio Museum in Harlem (New York), and the Museum Sztuki (Łódź). Joël Andrianomearisoa is also the founder and artistic director of Hakanto Contemporary, a non-profit independent space for artists in Antananarivo, Madagascar supported by the Fonds Yavarhoussen. 

—  Jérôme Sans 

Selected artworks

  • Joël Andrianomearisoa, Les herbes folles du vieux logis , 2022

    Joël Andrianomearisoa Les herbes folles du vieux logis , 2022

    Diptych - Textile
    260 x 180 cm
    102 1/2 x 71 in

  • Joël Andrianomearisoa, Things and something to remember before daylight Act V, 2024

    Joël Andrianomearisoa Things and something to remember before daylight Act V, 2024

    Textiles / lames
    260 x 180 cm
    102 1/2 x 71 in

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  • Joël Andrianomearisoa, Dans les songes et la captivité des creux de la peau tant adorée, 2024

    Joël Andrianomearisoa Dans les songes et la captivité des creux de la peau tant adorée, 2024

    Tapisserie tissée dans les Ateliers Robert Four à Carthage - Raphia
    195 x 135 cm
    77 x 53 in

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  • Joël Andrianomearisoa, Litanie des horizons obscurs, 2022

    Joël Andrianomearisoa Litanie des horizons obscurs, 2022

    Natural fiber, textile, metal
    120 x 90 cm
    47 x 35 1/2 in

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  • Joël Andrianomearisoa, Remember, 2024

    Joël Andrianomearisoa Remember, 2024

    Textile
    40 x 50 cm
    16 x 19 1/2 in

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  • Joël Andrianomearisoa, ATLAS AND TALES OF OUR DESIRES, 2023

    Joël Andrianomearisoa ATLAS AND TALES OF OUR DESIRES, 2023

    Pastel on paper
    101,6 x 64,8 cm
    40 x 25 in

  • Joël Andrianomearisoa, Effet de Lune Acte I, 2023

    Joël Andrianomearisoa Effet de Lune Acte I, 2023

    Fabric on canvas
    160 x 100 cm
    63 x 39 1/2 in 

  • Joël Andrianomearisoa, Archives of a sentimental territory, 2024

    Joël Andrianomearisoa Archives of a sentimental territory, 2024

    Painted metal and wood
    130 x 90 cm
    51 x 35 1/2 in

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  • Joël Andrianomearisoa, Something, 2024

    Joël Andrianomearisoa Something, 2024

    Neon light
    20 x 50 cm
    8 x 19 1/2 in

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Videos

  • In the studio with Joël Andrianomearisoa

Gallery exhibitions

Museum exhibitions

Selected press

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