Portrait of Pierre & Gilles – On Air May 27 on Museum TV

Pierre & Gilles is a pseudonym adopted by the artist couple Pierre Commoy and Giles Blanchard. Both from wealthy families, they met in Paris at a Kenzo event in 1976. It was then that the two men fell in love at first sight. Pierre and Gilles quickly worked together and created an exceptional graphic universe. 

Pierre Commoy was born in La Roche-sur-Yon in 1950 and studied photography. When he arrived in Paris in the early 1970s, he worked at Dépêche Mode, Interview, and Rock & Folk. Gilles Blanchard was born in 1953 in Le Havre and began painting. He worked as an illustrator for magazines.

Welcoming their models, an art 

Formerly living in the Marais district, the illustrious couple moved to Pré-Saint-Gervais in 1991, where they created their home-studio. A photography studio is located in the basement, where they arrange the sets and invite the models to pose. Gilles's painting space is a greenhouse.

By combining their talents, Pierre & Gilles create portraits with a kitsch, colorful, and baroque aesthetic. Their creative process begins with preliminary sketches by Pierre. Then, the couple prepares the set and decor, applies makeup to their guests, and equips themselves with props. Pierre takes a photograph of the model. Finally, Gilles "photoshops" the canvas print with his brush. He embellishes the skin and facial features, adding the signature whimsy of their work. The paint used is primarily gouache and acrylic, sometimes with collage. They create the frame together. 

One of the duo's first works is Les Grimaces, for which David Rochline, Adeline André, Titi Rognon, Djemila Khelfa, Alain Camara, Paquita Paquin, Edwige Belmore, Dominique Gangloff, and Gilles Blanchard posed. This assemblage of nine portraits would not become their trademark. They subsequently devoted themselves to single portraits and pairs of characters. 

Themes and Muses 

The recurring themes in their works are beauty, religion, sexuality, celebrity, and death. To achieve this, they portrayed people in their circles or celebrities from the worlds of music, fashion, and film. One of the works that greatly contributed to their recognition is the album cover for Étienne Daho, La Notte, La Notte. 

Isabelle Huppert and Sylvie Vartan are described as their muses. Sylvie Vartan even had her own room in the exhibition at the Philharmonic in Paris.

A striking multicultural art form 

Pierre & Gilles draw their inspiration from their travels, particularly their trip to India in 1978, during which they discovered the world of Bollywood films. The duo also draws inspiration from pop culture, with Andy Warhol's Pop Art. In addition, the work of American photographer James Bidgood, visual artist Jeffrey Koons, and David Lynch greatly influence their productions. By combining these influences with their own imaginations, the two artists create a brilliant, luminous, and sparkling result for the viewer. 

Opinions on their creations are sometimes highly controversial. They sometimes depict characters considered controversial.

Sometimes, it's the staging that shocks audiences. Here, religion is honored in a spirit of peace. In the words of Pierre & Gilles: "Our portrayal of David and Jonathan, the naked Jew and the Arab reunited in a gay world, provoked sometimes very violent reactions, even though it was intended to celebrate peace."

Some dates

1987 : Dalida died the day before her planned photo shoot with Pierre & Gilles. 

1993 : Pierre & Gilles' work received the Grand Prix de la Photographie de Paris. 

2023 : Major exhibition at the Galerie Templon, Paris. 

For over 40 years, the couple has painted some of the most original portraits, from Iggy Pop to Clara Luciani.

Watch Pierre & Gilles on May 27 at 8pm on Museum TV and on replay on our video-on-demand platform.