Agnès Bourély is an artist whose work is deeply intertwined with her rich familial background in music and her own experiences as a guitarist. Her artistic practice is informed by a lifelong immersion in the sounds of French impressionist music and a neoimpressionist environment, which have profoundly shaped her ability to translate the auditory into the visual. Growing up surrounded by musicians—her mother and sister as pianists, her father as a photographer, and her eldest daughter as a violinist and sound engineer—Bourély’s artistic journey has been marked by the fluidity of sound and movement, which she deftly conveys through her visual art.
Bourély’s work can be described as a form of "visual sound," where each line and brushstroke echoes the dynamics of musical compositions. Her artistic process mirrors the movements of a musician, with shifts and flows that rise from the two-dimensional plane as if they were notes in a symphony. She approaches her work with the precision and spontaneity of a contortionist, transforming familiar forms of nature into bold, expressive visual statements that challenge and redefine the viewer's experience.
Her work is characterized by a sense of both clarity and complexity, as she navigates between obeying and suspending the "rules" of artistic creation, much like a musician interpreting a score. The resulting pieces are vibrant, dynamic, and deeply evocative, with an underlying sense of movement and transformation. Bourély’s art often explores themes of identity, domesticity, and the fluid nature of personal and social environments—concepts that resonate with her life as a mother, wife, and global traveler.
Having lived in seven countries over the span of twelve years, Bourély's art reflects the constant adjustments and re-adjustments that come with such a nomadic lifestyle. This transience has imbued her work with a sense of selective exile and reinvention, as she continuously adapts to new surroundings and challenges. Her identity and artistic expression are thus shaped by a delicate balance of rootedness and freedom, much like the major and minor scales that define a musical composition.
Bourély received her BA in painting and a Diplôme d’Art Plastique from the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Angers, France, in 1986. She was awarded a Silver Medal from The Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver, Colorado, in 1988. Her solo exhibitions include notable venues such as the French Consulate in Anzoátegui, Venezuela; the Gallery "Colette Dubois" at 420 Rue Saint Honoré in Paris, France (2015); the Ministry of Finance in Bercy, Paris; Gibert Joseph Library on Boulevard Saint Michel in Paris; Gallérie Colette Dubois in Paris (2014); and Esprit d’Atelie Gallérie in Versailles, France, and Le Vis-à-Vis Gallérie in Paris (2013).
Now based in Houston, Bourély continues to evolve her artistic practice, bringing with her the rich, picturesque honesty that has become a hallmark of her work. Her time in Houston has further redefined her approach, imbuing her art with new layers of meaning and expression.