Armen Agop

Egyptian artist Armen Agop is one of the most esteemed contemporary artists from Africa. He is known for his contemplative sculptures and paintings derived from his exploration of ancient spiritual heritages. By integrating a meditative practice in his process Agop pioneers contemporary spiritual works. Despite being non representative his works are distinguished from the western abstraction by stimulating the viewer to contemplate and observe the unseen.

His focus is on the invisible and the internal energy that each piece transmits, embodying a spirituality within a physical form. Soberness, slowness, and renouncement of demonstrative abilities are features that characterize his ascetic approach. Engaging meditative working practices he prioritizes inwardness and inner monumentality beyond physical size.

Series like "Sufic" and "Touch" exemplify his exploration of spiritual themes. The "Sufic" series, prioritizes inner movement with single, contemplative forms that radiate their own internal energy, while the "Touch" series encourages physical interaction, allowing sculptures to move in response to human touch, expanding the viewer's perception.

In further research, the "Mantra" series developed from the concept of taking the simplest of elements, the point, and expanding it through time. Mantra, derives its name from the process Agop adopted to create the paintings. By practicing a "gestural mantra", a self-invented technique, he renounces any drawing and painting abilities and in an ascetic approach he applies a gestural mark to the canvas repeatedly with the smallest possible pen nib (0.1). Through this physical meditation, the "gestural mantra", the painting evolves within the rhythm of these repeated gestures, accumulating layers of luminosity emerging from the darkness of the black canvas.

Agop's works are meditative recordings of time and consciousness—echoes of a spiritual process rather than representations of form. Blurring the line between art-making and meditation, he offers us not just an artwork, but an invitation to pause and contemplate.

© Armen Agop