That process, particularly as it relates to the work he is showing in Seoul, consists of hand-painting on canvas then zooming into a smaller piece of that painting, scanning it, enlarging it, layering it on itself repeatedly and printing it at an enormous scale. In Seoul, these larger-than-life parts of the paintings make up the wallpaper. The original painting and the computer-created wallpaper are then in dialogue, one on top of the other.
Despite finding commercial success (he has worked with brands such as Hermès and Sézane), Pithon notes that being self-taught is still not the norm in France, a country that values rigid academic tradition at prestigious fine art schools. This sense of being an outsider has not kept him from continuing to create as he pleases. In fact, one signature of his work is the way he layers the neon paint that he makes himself.
“In France, academic painting has often regarded neon color as vulgar — too loud, too commercial, too pop — which is perhaps exactly why I like it,” he said, laughing.
Vincent Tuset-Anrès, founder of Fotokino, a gallery in Marseilles, France, met Pithon 12 years ago when he invited the Formes Vives collective to show its work at his space. Since then, he and Pithon have become friends and collaborators. Tuset-Anrès said Pithon was an easy partner who works fast, understands the assignments and is fun to work with, while also taking his practice seriously.
“I like the energy that you can feel when he’s working and in his paintings when he is done,” he said. “They are full of color and energy and there’s something very alive about them.”
Pithon said he painted a world in which he would like to live, and hoped the pleasure he experienced while painting was contagious and reached the viewer.
“Geoffroy expresses himself best with immersive, large-scale artworks, but because of the market he often has to adapt and do smaller work,” William said. “Frieze is an opportunity to do what’s really in his DNA.”
