Thomas Fourgeirol



Photograph by Matthew Rose

I bought my first Fourgeirol in Paris ten years ago after seeing one of his paintings in the very stylish L'Eclaireur.  I made my way to his gallerist who in turn organized a visit with the artist in Irvy sur Seine, on the fringe of Paris.  Thomas Fourgeirol still lives there, with his beautiful and talented wife (who's also an artist) and his now grown-up children.  I was most impressed wandering through that beautiful compound, a modernist airplane hangar type space, as we spent hours together pulling canvas after canvas, some the size of a bus.  His work is mostly about texture and the layering of paints, sometimes initially shocking; however, no matter the subject of his work, they all tend to be very soothing and calm after having studied them.  I particularly like that about his work: the relationship that builds from being with the painting.  Thomas also has a studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and during my recent stay in New York I visited him to catch up and see some of his new works.