Thomas Fougeirol

Thomas Fougeirol revolves around the investigation of absence, disappearance, and the traces of human presence through painting, drawing, and photography. Rather than depicting the human body directly, he often substitutes it with objects, debris, and remnants that suggest human existence, creating impressions and imprints that hover between figuration and abstraction. These subtle indicators of presence occupy a liminal space, inviting viewers to sense what is implied rather than shown. Fougeirol approaches painting as an experimental terrain. Long ago, he abandoned traditional painterly tools, engaging with surfaces through indirect gestures—using fabrics, metal grids, and other implements to leave imprints on canvas. Each work is a product of iteration, where repeated trials refine the relationship between gesture and outcome, producing an extensive series of canvases before achieving equilibrium. His latest works continue this methodology, layering and embedding discarded materials from his studio—dust, canvas scraps, glass shards, and colored paper—into thick fields of paint. These compositions deliberately resist conventional beauty, reflecting his interest in disorder, materiality, and the humble or overlooked. Aesthetically, Fougeirol’s canvases evoke the textures and rhythms of the studio itself, where tactile and visual elements converge. In this interplay between surface and substance, his works redefine painting as both a record and an archive of the creative process, highlighting the delicate tension between touch and sight. ...