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Conversation between Thu Van Tran, Pedro Morais (Art critic and independent curator) and Magali Nachtergael (Associate Professor in Literature, Culture and Contemporary Art at Paris University 13, curator and art critic), that took place on the occasion of her exhibition at Almine Rech Paris, on January 11th, 2020.

For her first solo show at the gallery, Thu Van Tran has chosen the double-edged title Trail Dust, which conjures up transience and evanescence but is also the code name for the toxic spraying operations carried out by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. The transience of life and the finality of death, the transformation of organic into mineral matter and the infinite timescales of mineralization and petrification processes are the themes of Thu Van Tran’s exhibition – as are such ongoing concerns as the nature and properties of the materials  onstituting her art, and how these materials might address such ever-present issues as the atrocities of the recent past. - Extract from the text by Rahma Khazam

Conversation between Allen Jones and Fabrice Hergott (Director of the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris), that took place on the occasion of his exhibition at Almine Rech Paris, on March 7th, 2020.

Allen Jones' paintings, with their careful layering of glazes and paint, show him to clearly be spectacular colourist. In turn they evoke a classical world that here in France might bring to mind the compositions of Nicolas Poussin, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, or the Henri Matisse of Luxe Calme et Volupté (1904) or La Danse (1910). Jones’ sculptures are carefully constructed parodies of commercial window shopping, which simultaneously remind the viewer of the amazing realism of Degas and his sculpture of female Parisian dancers and bathers. Like Degas, Jones has become increasingly obsessed with the theatre and cabaret – views from the balcony to the stage and back again. It gives him a particular opportunity to reflect on the way theatrical light is able to shine and create magic that in turn becomes a wonderful excuse for Jones’s virtuoso displays of colour on canvas.
- Norman Rosenthal

In Episode 18 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the world-renowned Irish artist, GENIEVE FIGGIS!! And WOW was it amazing to interview Genieve, whose vibrant, loosely rendered, liquid-like works that reimagine classical scenes I have been SUCH a fan of since her inaugural London exhibition at Almine Rech back in 2015!

Working in oil and acrylic and at small- to mid-scale, Genieve Figgis produces paintings rich in color, texture, and humor. Striking the balance between figuration, her marble-style and liquid-like paintings are reminiscent of the 18th century Rococo style. 
Born in Dublin and now based in County Wicklow, Figgis was always interested in art, however it wasn’t until she was in her thirties with two small children, that she completed her art education in 2012. Exhibiting across Dublin galleries, it wasn’t until Figgis used Twitter to display her artwork in 2014, which caught the attention of one artist in particular – Richard Prince – who introduced Figgis to the New York art scene.

Often reimagining and re-staging historical works – from Boucher, Fragonard, and Watteau – Figgis is particularly interested in scenes that feature sumptuous domestic interiors and stately country homes. 
It was such an honour to get to know and interview Genieve. We chat about everything from her strict Irish Catholic upbringing, what it was like entering a museum for the first time aged 19, going to art school later on in life, her ideas and interests behind her incredible painterly scenes, to her process and being an artist today.

Photo: Portrait of Genieve Figgis by Doreen kilfeather, April 2017