Japanese Garden Galaxy 5 Painting

Igor Gaignault was born in 1958 in Paris. During his childhood and youth, part of his visual environment consisted in paintings by artists such as Kandinsky, Kupka, Magnelli, Herbin, Picasso, Degas, Dali and Miro. In the course of the 1980s, he created objects made out of different materials and, in 1990, he discovered slate and began creating from this paradoxical material : cold and warm, brittle yet strong, dark and luminous, thanks in this case to pyrites, « gold of the lunatics ». In the course of 2006, he defined the « lithologue » concept, -the talking of the stone- enabling the stone's alphabet and language to be disclosed. This concept was developed while taking into account ancient Chinese philosophy which believed that every stone is a world, as well as the poetic and philosophical writings of Roger Caillois on stones. « Stones, situated in the universe at the antipodes of mankind, perhaps speak the most persuasive language », in Pierres Réfléchies His works powerfully express a lot of energy, serenity and light. Igor is also a designer whose objects have been exhibited at « Now ! », the new designer platform within the Maison & Objet show in Paris, during the September 2005 session. Igor Gaignault is a French and American dual citizen. He lives and works on the French Basque Coast.