THIERRY LEFORT by Philippine Prévost - Los Angeles home

A Frenchy in Burbank by Philippine Prévost, in Los Angeles Accueil , 2023

Street art in Los Angeles has just been enriched with a new fresco created by our compatriot Thierry Lefort, a renowned artist who fell in love with California.
Presentation of this major project.

It all started about ten years ago, during the many walks in California during which Thierry Lefort found his inspiration. While visiting Burbank, the artist was inspired by these grand avenues and their hilly backdrop. He draws sketches and then a painting, posted on Instagram. It was on this social network that the work caught the attention of the cultural manager of the city of Burbank, who suggested that Thierry Lefort adapt his painting to a wall in the city.

Going from a small square format painting to a wall of almost 150m2 was a challenge for the artist. First of all, it was a matter of finding the location of the wall, a choice entirely left to Thierry Lefort. Then, a number of administrative and regulatory constraints had to be lifted. The wall does not belong to the city, the owner had to give his agreement. A contract was signed between the artist and the city, covering various clauses, ranging from T. Lefort's remuneration to his obligation to take out American insurance in order to be protected against any damage caused during the production (up to $3 million!). Finally, the artistic challenge was considerable. Such a format was new for the painter: the change of scale and the passage from the square to the rectangular wall required the realization of nearly three different models in order to adjust the shapes, the perspectives but also the colors. Once this preparatory phase was completed in his studio located in Studio City, T. Lefort squared the wall to transfer his sketch to it by hand, then gradually applied his colors. Nearly 80 liters of paint were used! The artist has also prepared physically. The works lasted the whole month of August 2022, the painter working six days a week, from the morning until 1 p.m., the afternoons being much too hot and the exposure less favorable. It was alone from the top of one of his two ladders, with a brush attached to a pole and his pots of paint on the ground that T. Lefort painted.

If the fresco has not yet been officially inaugurated - it should be this summer -, it has already been integrated into the street art tourist circuit of the city and has allowed T.Lefort to acquire new visibility in the USA: he no longer counts the requests for frescoes (rejected at this stage because his approach is more commercial than artistic) and an American even contacted him to buy the wall! In France too, the media fallout was numerous and France Télévisions will film T. Lefort during a Californian artistic road-trip which will go as far as the Grand Canyon. We have not finished following the American adventures of the French Thierry Lefort for our greatest pleasure!

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