Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Tokyo… Auguste’s art is exhibited internationally and has won over Hollywood aesthetes, collectors and artists. A meeting between pop and the great tradition of painting, Auguste’s work offers a jubilant art, between pop and colourful works. Icon-Icon wanted to meet this figure of contemporary Pop Art.
Meeting with the artist Auguste.
Auguste, can you tell us about the genesis of your Pop Art signature?
I don’t come from the microcosm of art, I come from the world of education. A few years ago I fell into Art, it started as a hobby, then it became gigantic! I draw my Pop Art inspiration mainly from the world of childhood. For this, I use characters from cartoons, TV series … as well as brands that have marked our childhood. But I also use today’s references like YouTube, Instagram, Red Bull… I also include icons from the past and present such as Sean Connery and Steve McQueen as well as Kate Moss and Roger Federer. And finally I can take anything that comes into my head. I can transcribe on a work of art something I have seen in the street or elsewhere because my artistic style allows me a great freedom of expression.
How did you decide to draw on this universe for the purpose of your art?
I chose childhood as my main theme because first of all we have all been children. Childhood is a happy time when carelessness protects us from the difficulties of adult life. And when we are adults, we try at all costs to recover the blessed innocence of childhood. It is the beginning of a life, and having a happy or unhappy childhood can leave its mark on an adult’s life forever. Therefore, finding references from his childhood years later in my work makes it a Proust’s madeleine for the viewer. When a collector comes to me and says that when he looks at the work at home, it takes him back to his childhood memories, the time to forget his adult worries, I have succeeded! Art Is Life!
You use codes of luxury, great masters of painting, television, iconic photos, cartoon characters… How does this little world make sense in your work?
As I said before, I allow myself a lot of freedom of expression so I like to play with different readings of my work. At first glance, we see references linked to childhood and often to our childhood, but we can also see luxury brands that have also become references in the pop culture that surrounds us or icons that are in our collective imagination. All these elements make a melting pot, I would even say a melting pop!

What motivates you to bring together these past and present symbols in jubilant works?
These symbols allow me to represent the passing of time, Charles Aznavour’s “Yesterday I was still 20”. In all my creations, I am looking for the setting in motion, the passing of time.
You can feel nostalgia in my creations, as well as life. My works are very colourful, the characters seem to be animated and have things to say, the logos look like they are floating, the projections of flashy paint add dynamism and give a fireworks effect. My final touch is the varnish, it serves to freeze the story that the work retranscribes but also gives a shiny, sparkling side and a certain sensuality.
The materials I use also contribute to this dichotomy between past and present but also future. I use materials of my time like resin, aluminium, led screens, led neon lights, spray paints, car varnishes but also more conventional materials like acrylic paint, cotton frames, wood, gold leaves…
My artist’s name is also a symbol of this interweaving of past, present and future. However, my first intention when I chose this pseudo was not at all in this perspective. I chose Augustus in reference to the Roman Emperor I enjoyed studying during my History studies. I had no idea that it would become one of the symbols of my artistic theme!
To make Art is to make an assemblage of many things, Art Is Puzzle!
The format of your works is very interesting in that it is never conventional – is this part of a desire to express something else about the form of the works?
Yes, absolutely, and this permanent search for movement is the origin of it.
For the paintings, the cut-out form is surely the most important symbol. The coyote seems to have gone through the frame to crash next to or on the opposite wall. Mickey seems to walk out of the painting, the coyote in sculpture seems to fly out of its base, the coyote in bas-relief seems to have crossed the wall… All this to say that life is not fixed, it moves on, it goes. It is made up of moments of life like a puzzle that is assembled or destroyed: Life Is Puzzle!

You yourself have created NFTs. How do you think Web 3 can re-orchestrate the relationship between the artist/art/audience and the gallery/museum world in the future?
I became known through the Internet, so it was only natural that I should be interested in Web 3.0! I discovered NFTs last year and thought it was a huge field of possibilities.
People were already entering my artistic world via the internet and especially via Instagram. So my work is very much adapted to this world and it is a new challenge to go and meet these collectors. I’m getting to grips with this digital world, I’ve done a lot of research on this vertical and I have an NFT project underway.
Therefore the relationship between the artist/art and the public will happen at some point, maybe not right away but in a few years or decades, I am convinced. The relationship with galleries and museums… that’s another matter.
I notice that it is still difficult to get into the big art galleries Not everyone has the culture to go there. I don’t come from a family that had artists’ paintings hanging on the walls or that naturally went to meet this culture. I come from a small village in the Dordogne, my father was a baker.
Oh yes! I had a Mona Lisa poster in my room next to posters of Agassi and Jordan!
Traditional and physical galleries will have to renew themselves if they want to participate in this Art 3.0. It makes me think of many brands or media that have not been able to renew themselves with the arrival of the Internet and new technologies. I am thinking of Kodak, which let the digital train pass without getting on it.

Tell us about the Auguste Endowment Fund… A cause that is close to your heart.
I’ve spent the last few years thinking and doing art day and night. So I decided to get involved in a field that has been close to my heart since I was a teacher and that I miss: passing on culture to young people. I therefore want to bring together Art, Culture in the broadest sense of the word and primary school pupils from the rural world. Because I know from my own experience that it is very difficult to have access to culture in rural areas. This endowment fund will be used to raise money for schools to set up cultural projects. Art Is Utility!

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