Thierry Lefort by Agnes Chareton - French Morning

Thierry Lefort, a Cézanne in California by Agnes Chareton, 07.26.2023

With his felt hat, his salt and pepper locks and his pendant earring, he cultivates a youthful look and a little rebellious side. Thierry Lefort met us in Burbank, north of Los Angeles, at the foot of the immense fresco he completed here a year ago. At the request of the city, the French painter reproduced on a wall one of his oils on canvas, spotted on Instagram, in XXL format. At the intersection of East Orange Grove and San Fernando Boulevard, it is the soul of the place that he was able to capture.

The imposing line of the hills, a wide avenue lined with palm trees whose fine shadows splash the walls, dazzling colors... You would think you were feeling the heat of a summer in Burbank. “ It took me a month and a half to create this wall. I painted on the sidewalk from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day. It was a great experience ,” says the painter over a coffee from Starbucks, enjoyed on a bench.

From Los Angeles - where he lives half the year - to Paris, this work earned him a new boost of notoriety. She is so popular that we offered her other projects. She even caught the eye of the famous American street artist Shepard Fairey. “ During an opening, he told me that what I had done was fine art on a wall. “Maybe you started something new,” he told me. And yet, he knows a thing or two about walls, he has painted them all over the world ,” the Frenchman is still surprised.

In terms of talent, Thierry Lefort has nothing to envy of Shepard Fairey. At 56 years old, over the course of a life devoted to painting, his unique sensitivity found his audience. You can discover his paintings on his website or his Instagram account . Urban landscapes sketched “ on the motif ” , vibrant colors and these mysterious shadows which bring out the light… Today, his works are noticed in the cozy circle of French art collectors.

Sublimate things and places

A street, electric poles, cars… “ My job is to enhance places that are not necessarily pleasing to the eye. I like to find beauty where you don't see it right away, ” explains the artist with a transparent gaze. His favorite neighborhoods in Los Angeles? Eco Park or Hollywood, “ with its roads that climb and wind. » If his painting may seem simple, it is in reality the fruit of a long compositional work to “ provide a simplified, pleasant vision of things, without complications. »

His vocation was born at the age of 12, in Paris. He who “ wasn’t made for school ” perfected his technique for ten years with Philippe Lejeune, the “ master of the Etampes school. » In 2016, he wanted to “ break away from the Parisian microcosm ” and left to try the adventure in California. Thanks to Maud Bonanni, an actress and model, he roamed the workshops of Los Angeles. That's the trigger. “ LA is a city teeming with artists and ideas,” he appreciates. People go further, are more eccentric. Being around them forces me to step out of my box. »

But it was his meeting with Yoyo Maeght , granddaughter of the great art dealer Aimé Maeght, two years ago, which made him change dimension. The exhibition curator spots something rare in him. “ In Thierry's compositions, like a Kandinsky painting, nothing can be removed or added. He removes a lot of things from the image and keeps only the essentials ” she enthuses.