Ambi’s View of Malagasy Painters

Zo Toniana, 18 October 2018.

A Paris exhibition, running until 31 October, brings together a selection of Malagasy master painters active between 1900 and 1950 (Olivier Ratody, Louis Raoelina, Henri Ratovo, Émile Ralambo, Gaston Rakotovao, Joseph Razafintseheno, Ambroise and Gilbert Rakoto). Alongside them, the article sets the view that Ambi, a contemporary artist, brings to Madagascar’s evolution through her own work.

It traces her attraction to Antemoro paper and to fire as a material, since her first solo steps in Madagascar in 2014. The painting “Scissiparité” remains emblematic of that period. The article also discusses fire as a tool for raising awareness of deforestation, rather than as an instrument of destruction, and the question of identity, central to her work. It closes with a summary of her path: born in 1978 in Antananarivo, arrived in France in 2000, studied architecture in Marseille, then earned a master’s degree in fine arts in Aix-en-Provence. She has exhibited regularly since 2005.

Working with Madagascar’s Antemoro plant-fibre paper as a support lets me share a craft and keep a link with Malagasy artisans.

Summary and quotation from the original article, signed Zo Toniana, under the title “Regard d’Ambi sur les peintres malgaches.”