Collaboration with Gianpaolo Pagni
As the year draws to a close, Pierre Hermé invites us to take a colourful trip around the world of flavours: Destinations is a journey of taste taken by the pastry chef and visual artist Gianpaolo Pagni. His graphic creations give rise to an incredible diversity of world maps and shapes, sometimes round, sometimes rectangular or curved, in which a multitude of bright colours blend together.
Shapes and colours combine to create a sense of movement that we can't help but contemplate. Gianpaolo Pagni's work invites us into his world, where everything revolves around the imprint left by shapes and maps, creating motifs that repeat, accumulate, interweave and superimpose, leaving the viewer completely free to express his or her emotions. This evocative work gives rise to spontaneous, almost tactile forms, suggesting a treasure map, like a labyrinth of countries crossed by borders drawn with golden threads.
Gianpaolo Pagni was born in Turin (Italy) in 1969 and is a visual artist. His work focuses on memory and traces, using motifs and repetition to uncover an archaeology that is both personal and collective, particularly through the re-appropriation of printed objects such as old school books and dictionaries. In connection with the notion of memory, he has developed a particular and personal way of drawing; he creates stamps which he uses as drawing tools in their own right.
I was first seduced by the colour, and then by the fabulous stamp work, which appropriates the shapes and then soaks up multiple shades before creating the drawing. The stamp becomes the tool of appearance, bringing infinite nuances to Gianpaolo Pagni's work. The accumulation of strokes gives his creations a particular intensity, an impression of unexpected relief, offering each the image of a striking beauty highlighted by the golden strokes. Pierre Hermé