Some paint to music, lulling themselves with jazz or classical music. Argatti, on the other hand, paints music. He calls his canvasses sound vibrations and, to look at them at close range or from a distance, certain of his works undoubtedly are reminiscent of scores, with some of the series even bearing musical names. Betsy Jolas, a great French composer whose daughter is a painter, is one of his influences, to name but one. Painting and music very often go hand in hand, as shown by Argatti and his Musicales, which is why exhibiting works of this artist at the Hôtel de Région during the music festival made good sense. Of course Argatti’s work may equally be contemplated in silence. Each may draw from his work according to his or her understanding. Work which, undoubtedly, knows its music.
Alain Le Vern
Premier of the Haute-Normandie Region
