• English

William LET is an artist in the broadest sense of the term: a painter, photographer, illustrator, graphic designer, and comedian. A graduate of one of the best schools of applied arts in Paris and a trained actor, he relies in this series on his knowledge of these diverse domains.

His works are first striking in their breadth, framing, composition and the sensations that they evoke. Then, if we take the time for a more intimate look, they also tell us stories, little sequences of life, which reflect an emotional state that tells us much about their protagonists.

LET is passionate about psychology and the study of portraits, in expressionist terms. We find these interests reflected in all of his paintings and photography, in which LET seeks to translate what he sees in faces or postures into emotional terms. “I like to give the spectator the freedom to create the past and the future of the story that is sketched out…” And it is interesting, for him, to listen to how those stories play out according to those who view them.

Using the power of contrast, determined according to the intensity of the action, the subtleties of framing, and a masterful control of the visual realm, each of LET’s compositions project us into a film, with the dynamic touches of a paintbrush and the re-touchings of ink returning life to the still images. As the compositions waver between comic book animation, high-quality “photo-novels,” illustrations and storyboards, one finds one’s self pleasantly lost amidst this mix of genres and techniques.

A groundbreaking work in the panorama of contemporary art – a must-see!

Laurent Auzeric
Art Salesman
Expert and secretary at the European Chamber of Art Expertise

Biography

William LET, born in 1975 in Beaumont, France, studied at the Institut de Sainte Geneviève (Paris IV), where he received an undergraduate degree in Applied Arts. He then continued his education at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art et des Métiers d’Art, where he specialized in visual communications, and then spent three years at the Ecole Professionnelle Supérieure d’Art et d’Architecture, where he worked on freelance illustrations for newspaper articles. During this time he also began learning about painting, architecture, design, photography, advertising, and sculpting.

Having gained the diploma of “concepteur en communication” (“communications conceptualist”), LET begun an internship with a visual communications agency, and before long was appointed as the agency’s artistic director. After 5 years in the world of theatre, during which time he directed the plays of Pierre Palmade, Dany Boon, Muriel Robin, and Bruno Salomone (the most well-known of which was a musical comedy, Romeo and Juliet), he then left the agency to return to a more independent life. He felt burdened by a sense of artistic frustration, and imagined that this inner turmoil would gush out onto his canvases and his photographs.

A friend brought him to the mythic “Villa des Arts” in the 18th subdivision of Paris, and let him use a studio where he could express himself without interruption. There was born “OQP,” a series of photographs of public toilets, and “L’Ombre d’un Regard,” a series of canvas paintings. Knowing that Renoir, Picasso, Lautrec, Cézanne, Sisley, and Duffy had lived and painted in this same area motivated him to try to place his own name among this famous list. In 2003-2004, at the open house for the “Villa des Arts” studios, LET displayed photographs of body-painting, as well as the “L’Ombre d’un Regard” series, which would be invited, the following year, for exhibition at the Festiv’art of Saint Tropez.

An amateur actor with the Ligue d’Improvisation de Paris for 5 years, LET quit the troupe in 2004 after going on tour in Québec. He then begun intensive training as a comedian at La voix de l’Acteur with Fabrice Merlo. He performed in two short plays in a theatre in Avignon during the 2005 “festival-off,” and in a full-length piece by J.P. Shanley, entitled “Savage in Limbo.” It was during this training that he developed his interest in expressionist art, a genre that incorporated his newfound knowledge of acting by allowing him to direct his models, and control the intensity of his paintings.

In 2004 LET’s “OQP” series was selected for the “Paris Young Talent” exhibition, but was then censured by a city official, the Director of Youth and Sport. In response to the censorship, LET decided instead to unveil “Figures et Cultures,” a series of photographic portraits of African, Asian, and Indonesian individuals, which can now be seen in a gallery in the Bastille. A few images from “OQP” were also shown at GaleryX, alongside the works of other artists in a display about erotic art. Additionally, his illustrations and photos have been selected and dispersed throughout all of France by the “Cart’ Com Youth Talent Search.”

In 2005, an excerpt from “OQP” was presented for the “Festival International PHOTO-BIS,” as well as at the “exhibition#2 FËT’ART” in Cachan. Then, LET began working on a photography project entitled, “Il était une foi,” which was shown at the Plaza Madeleine and the Galerie-Lounge le 911 in Paris.

In 2006, he conceived “Storyboard,” a series of painted photographs inspired by cinema. And, transposing the images of the “L’Ombre d’un regard” series onto a resin cow, he won the 2nd prize in the Cow Parade of Paris, as chosen by the public, which earned 16,500 Euros in an auction for charity.

In February 2007, LET showed an exhibition entitled “En Jeux,” a series of images of poker players and other gamblers, at the “Casino Barrière de Briançon.” The following November, his entire “Story-Board” collection, as well as the “L’Ombre d’un Regard” series, were displayed in a huge exhibit at “l’espace 07,” on the Rue Herold in Paris.

In 2008, an exposition at the large Casino Partouche des Fores-les-Eaux will be on display until the 10th of April.