Thomas Canto is a self-thought artist whose active graffiti background has shaped his ultimate understanding of the urban environment. This heritage still plays an important role in his work. Using painting and sculpture methodologies, Canto constructs immersive eclectic installations that explore the relationships between the public and the architecture. Confronted with his taste for abstraction through the study of constructivist and futuristic currents, Canto obsessively digs into representations of speed and perspective which are to be found in all of his compositions. Depth, geometry and illusion are intricately intertwined in each work, foregrounding the question how humanity and created material respond to one another. The viewer becomes an inseparable part of the work.
Represented by the Matthew Liu Fine Arts space in Shanghai, the exhibition “Gravitational Transparencies” was a pivotal moment in Canto’s career which allowed him to deepen the exploration of architecture, optics and impressions of infinity. Canto’s most recent solo exhibitions include: “Structuring shadows”, RX Gallery, Paris, 2017; “Illusory perspective”, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 2016; “Gravitational transparencies”, Matthew Liu Fine arts, Shanghai, 2016 and “Suspended landscape”, ArtCentral, Projects section, Hong Kong, 2016. Selected projects and group exhibitions include: “Artistes à la une”, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2015; Installation, Mohamed VI contemporary and modern art museum, Rabat (Morocco); Installation, K11 Foundation, Wuhan (China); Installtion, Volklingen art Biennale, Germany; Installation, Magda Danysz Gallery project, Shanghai and Paris.
