JOËL ANDRIANOMEARISOA

Known in particular for his monumental installations, such as _I Have Forgotten the Night _at the Venice Biennale in 2019 or _Brise du rouge soleil _on the tower and ramparts of Aigues-Mortes in 2020, Joël Andrianomearisoa probes the emotional possibilities of urban space. At once imposing and fragile, monumental and meticulous, his work draws from Malagasy multiculturalism and tradition. Interested in the notion of non-geography, emblematic of the culturally diverse influences of Madagascar, Andrianomearisoa explores the universality of human experiences through complex, often abstract narrations.

In 2019, Joël Andrianomearisoa represented the first-ever Madagascar Pavilion at the 58th Venice Art Biennale. His work has been exhibited in leading global institutions including MAXXI, Rome (2018); Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2010); the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC (2015) and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2005) and more recently at the Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town ; the MACAAL, Marrakech (2022) and the Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2021). His work forms part of important international collections including the Smithsonian (Washington DC), The Studio Museum in Harlem (New York), and the Museum Sztuki (Łódź). Joël Andrianomearisoa is also the founder and artistic director of Hakanto Contemporary, a non-profit independent space for artists in Antananarivo, Madagascar supported by the Fonds Yavarhoussen.

— Jérôme Sans

Text courtesy Almine Rech.