Thierry Lefort by Yoyo Maeght - Biography

Biography by Yoyo Maeght, 2021

Thierry Lefort was born in 1967. It was at the age of twelve, untouched by any theoretical and technical learning, that he picked up pencils, brushes, pastels and produced his first drawings and his first paintings. It's the revelation, he finds his own way of apprehending the world, its light, its colors and above all its beauty. Then it is Chinese calligraphy, practiced in Henan province in China, which leads him to a greater clarity of line.

With Thierry Lefort we can speak of "Renaissance of Figuration", with all that that entails of simplicity, elegance and purity, even spirituality. Paul Cézanne, to whom he dedicates an unlimited admiration, said that " to paint from nature is not to copy slavishly, it is to realize one's feelings" . Thierry Lefort offers us to reach our own feelings. "The Act of painting and drawing requires such obedience that it becomes hypnosis, that it tears us from our person to the point that time and the world around us no longer exist" . Jean Cocteau.

The strength and particularity of Thierry Lefort lie not only in his technique, but also and above all in the rereading that he offers us of the world around him, in particular of the industrial and urban world. For his works, he favors painting "on the motif", seeking to capture the world as a whole, in the intensity and accuracy of its lights, shapes and colors. Thierry Lefort is a past master in the art of transcending life to keep only the best of it, offering an enthusiastic and optimistic look at places as diverse as stations, factories, bridges ordinary car parks. However, in the representations he makes of these places, the human is absent, but we suspect it.

While in his paintings everything is conducive to the rediscovery of beauty, make no mistake about it, Thierry Lefort does not seek to deliver a faithful image of the decor, the landscapes, the cities he paints. The "subject" and the "motive" are for him only an alibi. They are the starting point of a complex composition where masses, lines, shapes, lights and colors are forced into balance. He achieves this balance happily.

In September 2021, Yoyo Maeght chooses to exhibit his paintings in Paris, this first collaboration is enriched by the publication of two limited edition prints.

Biography by Yoyo Maeght, 2021