Natale Adgnot

Natale Adgnot (b. 1974) is a Franco-American artist who uses abstract sculpture and installation to explore cognitive bias and logical fallacy.

Adgnot creates wall sculptures made of painted thermoplastic that is adhered perpendicularly onto panels, incorporating a variety of materials that are emblematic of her personal history whilst exploring visual perception.

It was the experience of making garments for haute couture runways that led to the focus on sculpture, and it was whilst living in Tokyo that she began using thermoplastic. “I use abstract sculpture to explore bias and faulty perception. At its core, my practice is a dismantling of the conservative dogma of my childhood. The daughter of a horse trainer in Texas, I was raised with limited awareness of the world beyond my town and church. My exposure to differing viewpoints came later while living in France and Japan.”

Often beginning with a black and white line drawing from her sketchbook, Adgnot re-interprets the sketches as sculptures by extruding the lines up from the surface. By mounting these sculptural details perpendicular to the panel, the resulting object takes on a multitude of appearances depending on the observer’s viewpoint, challenging the notion that the truth can be fully known from a fixed perspective.

Adgnot’s work also refers to disparate chapters of her life through the utilization of different materials. They include horsehair as a nod to Texas, fabric from her time working in Paris couture, and washi paper representing Japan. In homage to the multiculturalism of New York, she employs the versatile material of thermoplastic to create elements that are sometimes mounted sideways on panels like glass fins, other times sewn into leather or piercing translucent organza. The material’s ability to take on many shapes and adopt a multitude of appearances denotes the expansiveness of humanity.

Natale Adgnot works and resides in Brooklyn and New Paltz, NY. Her work is held in private collections in France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.

Corporate collectors include Allspring Global Investments, Houston Methodist Hospital, Manifest (Season 4), Marriott, MGM Resorts (The Bellagio Hotel, Borgata Water Club), Red Rock Spa and Resort and others.

SOLO AND 2-PERSON EXHIBITIONS:
2024 - Textile exhibition with Sonjie Solomon at Gallery 1923 – Brooklyn NY
2024 - “Life Cycle of a Bird Brain” solo exhibition at Sweet Lorraine Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2022 - “Of Mind and Body” with Kate Casanova at Myta Sayo Gallery – Toronto ON 2021 - “Gobolinks” solo exhibition at Established Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2020 - “Chromaticism” solo exhibition at Established Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2019 - “To Interpret” solo exhibition at The Society for Domestic Museology – New York NY 2018 - “Geometry Geology” with Julia Dittberner at ES Gallery – Tokyo JP 2017 - “Mineral Siblings” solo exhibition at Midori.so 2 Gallery – Tokyo JP 2016 - “3331 Arts Chiyoda” with Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge at Nishikichō Studio – Tokyo JP 2015 - “Perceptions” with Edward Granger at The Roger Smith – New York NY 2015 - “True Colors” with Edward Granger at Littlefield Art Space – Brooklyn NY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND ART FAIRS
2024 - “Summer Reading” at Shelter Gallery – New York NY
2024 - “Tentacular Threads” for New York Textile Month – Brooklyn NY
2024 - “Natural Tendencies” at Yellow Studio – Cross River NY
2024 - “color(less)” at the Ely Center – New Haven, CT
2024 - “How Did We Get Here?” at Artport Kingston with the Ely Center – Kingston NY 2024 - Zero Art Fair curated by William Powhida and Jennifer Dalton – Elizaville, NY 2024 - “Install/Deinstall” curated by Gabriela Vainsencher at 601Artspace – New York NY 2024 - “Excellence In Fibers IX” juried exhibition – Fiber Art Now
2023 - SPRING/BREAK biennial “Secret Show” curated by Melinda Wang – New York NY 2023 - “Annual Small Works” curated by Grace Freedman at 440 Gallery – Brooklyn NY 2023 - “Art Bath” at Blue Gallery – New York NY
2023 - “Process Driven” at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art – New Haven CT 2023 - “The Other Side” at N/A Project Space curated by Melinda Wang – New Paltz NY 2023 - “Summer Camp” at Lexington House gallery curated by Jill Benson – Lexington NY 2023 - “Skelly & Friends” curated by Lauren Skelly Bailey – New York NY 2022 - “Annual Small Works” curated by Johnny Thornton at 440 Gallery – Brooklyn NY 2022 - “10” at Launch Pad Gallery – Yokohama, Japan
2022 - “Don’t Panic” curated by Francesca Pessarelli at Sweet Lorraine Gallery – Brooklyn NY 2022 - “Sacred Pause, Sacred Fertilizer” curated by Work in Progress. Nevelson Chapel – New York NY
2022 - The Affordable Art Fair Fall NYC with Myta Sayo Gallery – New York NY 2022 - Juried exhibition by the TX Society of Sculptors. UMLAUF Sculpture Museum – Austin TX
2022 - “Sound & Sight: A Duet” curated by nAscent Art at The Watermark – Brooklyn NY 2022 - “In Plain Sight” curated by Kristina Libby – New York NY
2022 - “100 Small Works of Hope” curated by Alexandra Jamieson – New York NY 2022 - “Phone Home” at Grace Exhibition Space – New York NY
2022 - “Les Étrangers” at Maison 10 – New York NY
2021 - The Other Art Fair with Arts Gowanus – Brooklyn NY
2021 - “Greatest Hits” at Maison 10 – New York NY
2021 - “Time is a UFO” at Sweet Lorraine Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2021 - “Case Study: Light and Obscurity” with Gowanus Night Heron – Brooklyn NY 2021 - Affordable Art Fair with reference: contemporary gallery – New York NY 2020 - “TART” curated by Work In Progress Ventures – New York NY
2020 - “Black & White” at BWAC (Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition) – Brooklyn NY 2020 - “Re-Launch” at Maison 10 – New York NY
2020 - “Duality” at the Royal Society for American Art – Brooklyn NY
2020 - The Affordable Art Fair with reference: contemporary gallery – New York NY 2019 - PULSE Art Fair with reference: contemporary gallery – Miami Beach FL 2019 - "small works, Big Talent" at Curtis Gallery – New Canaan CT
2019 - Affordable Art Fair with reference: contemporary gallery – New York NY 2019 - “Priority Mail” at Ground Floor Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2019 - "Re: re: re: Patterns" at La Bodega Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2019 - The Other Art Fair at Brooklyn Expo Center – Brooklyn NY
2019 - “ALL WOMAN” at Maison 10 – New York NY
2019 - “small/MIGHTY” at La Bodega Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2018 - “In Their League” at The Cluster Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2018 - “Hang Time!” at THE blank GALLERY – Tokyo JP
2017 - “Small Wonders” at Clouds Art – Tokyo, Japan
2017 - “Priority Mail” at Ground Floor Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2017 - “Surface(s)” at Nishimachi Artist Space – Tokyo, Japan
2017 - “Blossom Blast 2017” at UltraSuperNew Gallery – Tokyo JP
2015 - “Made in Gowanus” at Ground Floor Gallery – Brooklyn NY
2015 - “Introductions” at Trestle Gallery – Brooklyn NY
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
2020 - Honorable Mention, “Black & White” at BWAC awarded by juror Jenée-Daria Strand, curatorial assistant for the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum 2016 - 3331 Arts Chiyoda's AIR 3331 Nishikichō Studio. Studio Residency 2015 - TOKAS (formerly Tokyo Wonder Site): Research Residency Program
PRESS & PUBLICATIONS
January 2024. Fiber Art Now
September 23, 2022. Art Spiel
May 24, 2022. Authority Magazine
January 2, 2022. Cultbytes
October 13, 2021. Hyperallergic
June 3, 2021. Time Out NY
March 23, 2021. BKLYNER
November 10, 2020. Art Hag
October 12, 2020. Hyperallergic
July 28, 2020. Frontrunner Magazine
March 19, 2019. Fiercely Curious
May 8, 2017. FEW Japan
March 11, 2017. Tokyo Art Beat
March 7, 2017. The Japan Times
March 3, 2017. Tokyo Savvy
November 14, 2015. Tokyo Art Navigation