Totem By Christian Astuguevielle

Christian Astuguevieille (born in 1946). Totem in painted fabric France, contemporary creation. This striking totem, made of painted fabric, is fully in line with Christian Astuguevieille's singular universe, where the object becomes a figure, a sign and a ritual. The sculpture, of slender proportions, combines a massively stylized anthropomorphic body; with sculptural, almost totemic legs; to an extremely long vertical column that stretches above the figure's head. The whole is covered with black and white graphic patterns, painted directly on the fabric: geometric shapes, striations, arches, ellipses and repetitive signs that evoke a primitive writing or an invented symbolic language. The fabric, stretched and painted by hand, gives the piece a texture that is both soft and raw, reminiscent of the wraps, ritual costumes and fetish objects dear to the artist. The contrast between the solid areas and the white signs creates a visual vibration that animates the entire height of the totem. Halfway between sculpture, talisman and imaginary figure, this work has a deeply ritualistic and enigmatic presence, a vertical being, dressed in signs, who seems to belong to a forgotten culture or an inner world. A strong, rare piece, and totally emblematic of the material and graphic poetry of Astuguevieille.