Born to a Flemish mother and a Sicilian father, Laurent’s surname foreshadows the chaotic, collage-y and lawless content of his works. In Sicilian, Impeduglia means ‘flounder’, literally to ‘mix up the tassels’. His paintings are replete with references to religion and death, heavy with symbolism, random pop-culture trademarks and hints of iconography.
When interviewed for a creative website from Chicago, he stated the following: “It is a fact that I would not have been an artist without the death of my brother. I lost my whole frame of reference, part of me still remembers that time. His death forced me to cling on to other things and start a new life. The art gave me hope. I learned to start anew by reading several books and to take in influences from the 80s in the field of culture, video games and music. My father has always been very esoteric. He had books on the occult sciences where I was trying to get through. Then I discovered alchemy and Jacques van Lennep’s book “Art and Alchemy”, which gave an explanation for my images. This led me to the work of Hieronymus Bosch, which is filled with alchemical symbols. In that way I started searching. ”
Laurent considers humour and self-mockery to be two stepping stones of his works. “Speaking for myself: humour sometimes gets me out of desperation and gives me an escape from dark ideas. In my paintings, you find a balance between joy and sadness, it’s a way to escape death each time. My work is an ongoing attempt to escape and a fight against death. With this idea, I work every day and that is why I work so much. I don’t want to have regrets.”
BIO / Born on Friday 13th, 1974, in Liège, Belgium, Laurent Impeduglia graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts where he studied painting and nowadays he teaches drawing at his alma mater. False left-handed heir of James Ensor and René Magritte. Laurent Impeduglia’s work develops in a perpetual mutation where derision constantly allows one to escape the gravity of a sometimes meaningless world. Apprentice alchemist, follower of the quest, the litany of his sources of inspiration that accompany us on the path to the Philosopher’s Stone is dizzying. As a child of the 80s, he has been fascinated by the cults that founded society, the mythologisms and heroes, the iconographies of Catholicism, the power of counter-culture, industrial manufacturing and commodity fetishism. His work transposes contemporary truths and tends to open a door to a new world. As a successful artist, he exhibited in Berlin, San Francisco, Paris, New York and Tokyo. Besides painting, he also draws and makes sculptures and installations.
ARTWORKS / Laurent Impeduglia @laurent.impeduglia
