Alessandro de Médicis, le duc Noir extension by Raphaël Barontini, 2nd Prize 2019. Tapestry installation project, printed silk and silkscreen inserts.

The second prize of 2019 was awarded to Raphaël Barontini, an artist trained at the Beaux-Arts in Paris and represented by the Alain Gutharc gallery in Paris, The Pill in Istanbul, and Espai Tactel in Valencia.

Continuing his work to "bring painting out of the frame," Raphaël Barontini explored the meeting between the centuries-old practice of low-warp tapestry and more contemporary textile practices such as printing and silkscreen.

He envisioned a dreamlike installation, evoking both a royal headboard with a canopy and a throne room decor, blending elements of East and West.

The installation consists of a central tapestry panel hybridized with silkscreen inserts on various materials, in the aesthetic of a collage, and assembled into a three-dimensional form with baroque draped curtains, printed on silk.

In this poetic Creole imagination, the blending of cultural references in acidic tones – from 16th-century Italian painting to ancient sculpture, and African art – echoes the confrontation of textures, differences in weight and drape, and variations in weave and texture.