Swimming with algae's and Frida , oil on canvas, 80x80 cm ©️ Anne-Margreet Honing | Julian Meijer Collection
A work to wear, a cause to defend
On December 15th, from 6 pm to 9 pm, the Suzanne Tarasiève Gallery will host a unique event where contemporary art and social commitment are clearly intertwined. The Azé association, active for over ten years in Tuléar in southwestern Madagascar to facilitate access to education, will unveil its limited edition series "Carré de soie" for the first time.
For this inaugural edition, the Franco-Dutch artist Anne-Margreet Honing was invited to transpose her abundant universe into a delicate format: a square entitled "Aquatic", published in one hundred copies.
The pattern of this square, vibrant with plant energy and chromatic flows, evokes the joyful hybridity that pervades Anne-Margreet Honing's entire oeuvre. To immerse oneself in "Aquatique" is to enter a shifting scene where life flows ceaselessly and where the gaze wanders in the interlacing of the living. This edition, measuring 90 × 90 cm, was crafted by a silk weaver in Lyon, while the edges were hand-rolled in Madagascar, establishing a subtle connection between artistic creation and local craftsmanship. Each square is presented in a handmade Antemoro paper envelope, also made in Madagascar, adding an artisanal and cultural dimension to the object.
The purchase of this piece is therefore not just an aesthetic gesture: each square will finance a school year for a child in Tuléar, transforming beauty into concrete support.
Anne-Margreet Honing, painter of proliferation and fertile worlds
Trained at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, Anne-Margreet Honing very early on anchored her practice in an almost organic relationship with nature. Her repeated stays in the jungles of Panama and Costa Rica shaped an attentive eye to primitive forms, to the overflowing luxuriance, to the silent tensions that inhabit wetlands and dense forests.
Her recent works unfold interior landscapes where vegetation asserts itself as an autonomous force, sometimes generous, sometimes unsettling. Nature appears there as it once was, as it could become again, or as it disappears before our eyes, a victim of an Anthropocene that alters the fragility of life.
In Swimming with Algae and Frida , a painting presented at the event, the artist conjures a shifting biodiversity, both gentle and menacing, whose translucent colors seem to breathe on the canvas. The silk scarf "Aquatic" extends this teeming dynamic, transforming the painting into an intimate object, meant to be worn, given as a gift, passed on.
Azé, education as a horizon
In Tuléar, children often face a daily life marked by insecurity. The average income per capita struggles to exceed a low monthly threshold, one in four children has never set foot in a school, and many of them have to interrupt their schooling before the end of primary school.
In this context, Azé supports nearly five hundred young people aged five to twenty each year. The organization works with local partners, strengthens educational structures, supports families, and guarantees children continuous access to learning. Its mission is rooted in a long-term vision where knowledge becomes a force for empowerment.
The launch of the “Aquatic” square thus represents a coherent alliance between art and transmission: transforming a creative object into an educational resource, making beauty a foundational act.
Five questions for Sonia Perrin, president of Azé
What prompted you to choose Anne-Margreet Honing to launch the limited series “Carré de soie”?
Anne-Margreet Honing is a Dutch artist who lived in Paris for many years, and whose work I have followed for over twenty years. I love her highly theatrical and powerfully feminine world, the way she works the canvas like modeling clay, and the tangy sweetness of her color palette. Her paintings, with their very organic motifs, reveal the artist's deep interest in environmental subjects, which she treats with a touch of mischief. A discerning eye can thus read all the carnal energy hidden within seemingly innocent patterns. Each canvas is an open book, like an Andersen fairy tale that explores our desires and our unconscious.
In your opinion, how can art amplify an educational project like Azé's?
While I was a godmother to children in Madagascar, I traveled there and had the opportunity to meet Jacques-Jean Efiambelo, a sculptor of aloalos. Aloalos are totems with funerary origins, which this artist has modernized. Azé was born from this encounter with the children of the Efiambelo family. And it was quite natural that, when it came to raising awareness of the association's work in the field, I brought together the worlds of culture and solidarity. With the help of the Magnin-A Gallery, I was able to organize sales of aloalos in France to benefit Azé. More generally, the sensitivity of artists gives us direct access to the humanities, to what creates connection. Addressing an essential subject like education through art allowed me to reach our ambassadors and donors perhaps more directly.
What are the priority needs of the children and students you support in Tuléar today?
You've probably read or heard about the "Gen Z" uprisings in Madagascar? The needs, now as yesterday, are all priorities. They are physiological: access to water, healthcare, healthy food, and shelter; they are about belonging: social integration; they are about self-esteem: being recognized for who you are and what you do; and they are about self-actualization: access to learning. Azé intervenes directly or indirectly in all these areas.
How does donor mobilization play a decisive role in the sustainability of your actions?
Azé is a non-profit organization (governed by the French law of 1901) that relies solely on private donations. We do not seek any public funding. Donations, whether from individuals or organizations, are therefore at the heart of our work. Without the trust and support of our donors, we could not operate in the field. I would add that 100% of donations are directly allocated to our missions in Madagascar. Azé has virtually no operating costs, and its board is composed entirely of volunteers.
What type of emotion or reflection do you hope to evoke in visitors when they discover the "Aquatic" area?
This is a project that brings me great joy, and I hope it will be shared. I love this collaboration with an artist who is still too little known, and I sincerely thank her for responding so enthusiastically to my proposal. The adaptation of Anne-Margreet Honing's painting, "Swimming with Algae and Frida," on silk is very successful. The scarf itself is beautiful, crafted by the finest artisans in France in silk production and craftsmanship. The renowned Lyon silk weavers, and more specifically André-Claude Canova of Canova Silks, whom I thank for his assistance. The finishing of the squares was done in Madagascar, where the edges are hand-rolled, just like the precious scarves of the great French fashion houses, creating a connection with Madagascar. The packaging is also handmade in Madagascar using Antemoro paper. I am very happy about this project and wish it a long life so that it provides Azé with the financial means to continue its work, artists with a different medium of expression, and the general buyers with much kindness. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present it to your visitors in the pages of ArtMajeur.
A year-end celebration focused on the future
Thanks to the support of the Suzanne Tarasiève Gallery , which is currently presenting the exhibitions "Reverse Perspective" by Boris Mikhailov and "Pleasure and Guilt" by Mathieu Santori, this evening will be an opportunity to celebrate the end of the year over a drink, and above all to take part in a collective and supportive dynamic.
It will be possible to acquire the "Aquatic" silk square in advance via the Azé online store, or to reserve a number between 1 and 100 by contacting the association.
Monday, December 15, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Suzanne Tarasiève Gallery, 7 rue Pastourelle, Paris 3rd arrondissement
Nicolas Sarazin
| ArtMajeur Magazine
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