On February 28, we’re opening the doors to a special moment: The Gentle Strength of the Feminine, with Agnès Robin painting live. Before watching her create, we wanted you to hear her voice—the one we don’t always hear behind the artwork.
Before this event, here’s a little preview: three unfiltered minutes with the artist, to understand where that energy comes from, that blend of power and finesse. Then we’ll meet at the gallery to experience the rest together.
The Main Interview – The Gentle Strength of the Feminine
Vincent: Between the raw energy of street art and the delicacy of a sheet of gold leaf, there’s a whole world. At what precise moment, alone in your studio, does the “rebel” Agnès give way to the meticulous Agnès?
Agnès: The rebellious Agnès is always the first to speak up! She wants to convey a message through the aesthetics of artistic composition. But I censor her a great deal, depending on what I am ready to show. I haven’t yet reached the point where I couldn’t care less about other people’s judgement. I try as much as possible to do what I want, what I love, what I find beautiful — hoping that others will feel the same way. The meticulous Agnès is present throughout the entire creative process, and especially at the moment of the final touch. I love things done well. Sometimes I push myself toward a ‘controlled letting go,’ but my meticulous side quickly takes over again…
Vincent: Your women always seem to carry something heavy, yet they stand tall and unshakable. Where do these women come from—do they exist in your real life, or do you invent them?
Agnès: All around me, in my personal life but also in the public sphere, I have seen, heard, and supported women with a powerful feminist voice: Simone Veil, Simone de Beauvoir, Frida, Gisèle Halimi, my cousin Marie-Jo… Women for whom freedom and gender equality were a battle — women who dared!
Through my portraits, I try to transpose that inner strength. But depending on my mood at the moment of creation, these women can carry both the full weight of rage at the injustices done to women, and at the same time all of their powerlessness and vulnerability. My women carry themselves with determination, strength, and grace.
Vincent: The exhibition is called The Gentle Strength of the Feminine. But honestly, are there days when you don’t feel strong at all in the face of your work? How do you regain that strength?
Agnès: Like everyone, I’m not always riding a high… There are times when I doubt myself, question everything, feel torn, lose confidence. But I won’t hide from you that it never lasts long — because very quickly, passion ignites me again, and then I become like a machine, charging forward with everything my heart has!!! For me, creating is breathing — it is vital.
Vincent: Is there a country, a specific place from your travels, that has left a direct mark on your way of painting—something you still see in your canvases today?
Agnès: The culture of my home country, France, is what has left the strongest imprint on my artistic work. You can find it both in the style and in the construction of my pieces. Of course, countries like India and Thailand also influence me greatly in my choice of colours. And then Québec, my adopted homeland, always adds its own little touch.
Vincent: You have this dual Paris/Quebec identity, yet today your canvases hang in more than thirty countries around the world. Do you feel that your “strong women” resonate differently or tell another story depending on the culture where they land?
Agnès: I dare to believe that the message my ‘strong women’ carry remains the same wherever they are. But I hope that each person — man or woman — takes hold of that strength in their own way, and lets it grow within their everyday life.
Vincent: On February 28, you’ll be painting live in front of an audience. For an artist used to the intimacy of her studio, what does it feel like to be observed in the middle of creation? Pure adrenaline, or a subtle form of torture?
Agnès: For me, painting in front of an audience is sheer madness! I need calm and concentration — I paint in silence. But meeting people, talking to them about my passion, sharing my creative process, listening to them speak about my paintings — that is deeply nourishing and enriching. It is also a way of saying thank you to everyone who supports me, by coming to meet them in person.
Vincent: If you could have a two-hour conversation with any woman, living or not, to talk about your work—who would it be, and why?
Agnès: The woman I’d love to spend two hours talking about my work with would be the portraitist Annie Leibovitz — a photographer with an incredibly sharp eye for different angles and perspectives.
Vincent: What’s the worst advice you’ve ever been given?
Agnès: Stop painting, change your style… That my style of art was too commercial… But isn’t art a commercial discipline? Don’t all artists paint in order to sell their canvases? Fortunately, I persevered and did exactly as I pleased!
Vincent: If your signature color palette—with its distinctive textures and light—were a song we’d hear as we step through the gallery doors, what would the style or rhythm be?
Agnès: It would be the song “Je veux” by Zaz — a song filled with love and happiness!
Vincent: Someone who has never bought a work of art in their life walks into your exhibition on February 28. What do you want them to feel when they walk out?
Agnès: I would want people to feel that positive energy I pour into every single one of my works — through colour, light, composition, and the choice of faces.
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THANK YOU ANDRÉ!