"Ryan McGinness is a very talented person and an old friend"

The American artist and Agnès tell us all about their 20-year relationship in their new collaboration, out this week.

Can you tell us about your path as an artist?
I grew up with skateboard and surf, and very early on I understood the power of logos and icons. Placed on ordinary objects, they transformed the value of objects as ordinary as t-shirts or skateboards. As I couldn't afford theses cool things, I started by making my own. Since then, the iconography of signals and figures I've created has moved between painting and installations.

What is the creative process behind your work?
I usually start with thumbnail sketches. Some of these interest me and become larger formats, which I draw and redraw ad infinitum. I like the idea of an underlying geometry that can be revealed afterwards. I've always been attracted to artists who have created their own universe, like Bosch or Magritte. They invite us into their world. My works are often punctuated by absurd images, sometimes even pornographic. I use the apparent simplicity of signs and icons, the accessibility of a universal visual language, to say things that are sometimes violent. These ideas have to get out. Art has given me a purpose and saved my life.

How did you meet Agnès?
Agnès and I met 21 years ago when she curated, A New New York Scene in her gallery in Paris. It was a significant exhibition that changed the contemporary art landscape in Paris. A year later, she invited me to create a solo exhibition and book, which I titled Multiverse. It was in the winter, and I arrived in a shabby jacket inappropriate for the cold. Upon receiving me, she immediately sent me to her store to pick out a proper winter coat—the kind I could never afford. That is Agnès.

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Agnès, why did you decide to work with Ryan McGinness?
I first met Ryan in 2003, with his whole gang, some of whom were friends. I'd invited them all to an exhibition I'd put together in Paris, What about New York? A New New York Scene. It was an incredible scene. I still remember visiting his studio in Center Street, New York. Then I invited him to do a solo show called Multiverse in Paris in 2004, where he showed some absolutely magnificent paintings. He's a very talented person and an old friend (laughs).

What does his work as an artist evoke for you?
All his work is always very flowery, but modern, something very decorative, but also very sensitive. I really like the pieces I bought from him at the time.

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