Gérard Garouste, one of the most talented French painters today, © Hugo Miserey

I woke up this morning and my best reward was to get a message from Erik Desmazières, our most brilliant French engraver and drawer who has a show at Galerie Dietesheim &Maffei in Neufchatel Switzerland (until January 28), announcing that the Académie des Beaux Arts had elected Gérard Garouste to the painting section. This is a long awaited honor for one of the best French artists whose Memoirs “L’Intranquille” written with Judith Perrignon and published in 2009, are still a best seller. Daniel Templon, his galerist must be very proud.

Naaman, 2017, Photo B.Huet-Tutti,Photo, Courtesy Galerie Templon, Paris et Bruxelles

Represented by Leo Castelli in the Eighties, Gérard Garouste has always worked around historical or biblical characters and creates dramatic distorted portraits. He is one of the most original and intellectual French painters. I first saw his works at the Palace night club in 1979 when he completed the decors for Le Privilege, the exclusive dining room downstairs where I covered parties for Vogue Hommes.

Pinocchio et la partie de dés, 2017, Photo, B.Huet-Tutti Courtesy Galerie Templon, Paris et Bruxelles

I then loved his curtain for the Théâtre du Châtelet which you can still see today on any performance day.  In 1981, Gérard Garouste founded a center for disinherited children “la Source”, in Normandy near his house, where he tries to help them develop through art. His wife of almost fifty years, Elizabeth, is herself a wonderful designer.

“Le grand duc et la femme à l’oreille”, 2016, Photo, B.Huet-Tutti Courtesy Galerie Templon, Paris et Bruxelles

On March 15, he will open an exhibition on the theme of “Diane and Acteon” at Musée de la Chasse in Paris and simultaneously one on “Zeugma” at Galerie Templon showing the amazing new paintings published here.

An illustration from Don Quichotte by Cervantès, Editions Diane de Selliers

He will also be at Musée des Beaux Arts with paintings on “Les Indiennes and Ellipses”. If you can’t afford a painting, indulge like I did (for 95€) in the wonderful Don Quichotte that he illustrated for Editions Diane de Selliers. It is beautiful and intriguing!