Thierry Despont

Born and raised in France, Thierry Despont is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts and holds a Masters degree in Urban Design and City Planning from Harvard University. "Architecte DPLG", Despont is a knight of the French Legion of Honor and a knight of the Arts and Letters. Based in New York City, he is the co-author of Restoring the Statue of Liberty Houses, a collection of his residential projects, and Le Bateau Ivre, a folio of his drawings illustrating Arthur Rimbaud's poem, "Le Bateau Ivre". Despont is also the author of Masks, Studio and Planets.

(NB 02 (2002) Enamel, acrylic, oil stick, ink and paper on wood)

What I am looking at is a close up painting of a planet, possibly Mars. The painting does not show the entire planet, which is good in some ways as you can see much more detail and precision of the colours and textures used. However, texture is extremely hard to see since a photo of a painting does not show the full colour or detail that has been added, especially in terms of different layers on the painting; thus, we can only guess and make inferences. The depth of the painting is really shown by the colours used; the deep Cadmium and Alizarn reds combined with the light Rose on top creates layers within the painting. It makes the painting look 3D, even when it is not. In addition, the Pale Lemon colour at the edge of the planet creates light against the black background. It gives the painting a light source from above, hinting at the Sun off the painting.

(PNB 11 (2002) Asphaltum, enamel, acrylic, ink and oil stick on 

copper plate mounted on wood)

I really like this piece and the way it has been constructed. It combines the fact that space is complete darkness but sheds light onto the planet through the use of the Cadmium Yellow. The painter, Despont, has incorporated dynamics into his painting, the yellow builds the shape and the foundation of the planet, because otherwise it would not look like a planet at all; the painting would have no shapes, it would just be black. The Cadmium Orange and the Raw Sienna then builds the tone and the shadows into the painting, the light source is from the left and thus the right side of the planet is darker and not getting as much light. The 'spots' that have been splattered onto the piece can be seen as countries; places in the world that look tiny from out of space but in reality they are huge. The form of the painting can be seen as both 2D and 3D. 2D as the image itself is of that dimension, but 3D if you really look at the image and the depth and shape it has. Planets are always 3D. 

(Untitled (Monoprint) (2005) Ink on paper)

This piece stood out to me, as it is one of the few that Despont has created that has been on white paper, or on a white surface. All the others have been on black surfaces, especially the two I analysed above, to emphasise the darkness in space. With the other two piece's being on black surfaces, you can definitely focus more on the colours used that create the foundations and the shapes of the planets, whereas in this piece Despont has created the form of the planet through the use of Process and Mars Black. What is interesting is that due to Despont using the technique of Mono printing, the ink has come out differently on the paper. There is a huge lack of ink on the right side of the planet compared to the left, where the black is thick and dense. It creates light within the piece, where the lack of colour has an effect. The Cadmium Orange that has been added within the ink has created patches, which give off this image which can relate to a very real picture of Earth at night. The added orange reminds me of all the lights on in the world at night.