Elles & eux Peoplewhomatter Jean-Philippe Delhomme Seeing it in painting AcclaimedillustratorJean-Philippe Delhommejoined200othercreators tocelebratethebicentennial ofLouisVuitton’sbirth.Theperfect opportunitytomeettheartistas painter,aroundadecoratedtrunk. Penningaportraitofanartistwhosejobispreciselyto, inter alia,drawportraits,alwaysinvolvesabitofaparadox. Forstarters,theubiquitousqueries,heardahundredtimes ormore,answeredatleastathousandtimes.Inthiscase, Jean-PhilippeDelhomme,oneofthe200 visionaries commissionedbyLouisVuittontoimaginethe200th anni- versaryofthebirthofthefounderofthefamousmailtrunk. Itwastemptingtofindoutabitmore.It’sallaboutseeing itinpainting. Delhomme’sillustrationsmayhavereceivedaccolades fromtheadvertising,fashion,movieandpublishingworlds andthepress,yethehasneverceasedpainting.Atthe moment,he’sdepictingcityscapes,acarstrandedina Première,aconsecratedandlegendaryaddressinMontpar- parkinglotintheU.S.,achair.Whenitcomestopeople,he nos-des-Arts,heshowedupinAsnièresandinNew York. preferstopaintthem“astheyareandforwhotheyare,” Greenwich Village,Union Squarethenthistimeless foreverdreamingthey’resomewhereelse.Usingvarying spaceinthemiddleoftheBrooklynareaofBushwick, amountsofgouacheonthebrush,optingforaslanted nexttoWilliamsburg.There’saviewofagarage,with perspective.Trainingavigilanteyeneverroguishor carsbeingrepairedandajunkyard.InspiringandsoL.A. naughty,fromcanvastolivingcolor. Onevisitwouldbeagame-changer:thatofNew York galleryownerLucienTerras, whocametoview Pens and brushes BorninNanterrein 1959,Jean-Philippe Delhomme’sworkandleftwithaprojecttoexhibithis Delhommeinheritedthefamily’sartyvibe.Hisgrandfather paintings.“Realpaintings,straightforward,without wasartisticdirectoratLancôme,hisfatherasurgeon, bafflingthepublicwithanyconcept.” swappingthescalpelforapaintbrushtocomposelandscapes Aconcernspringsup:howtoleadthepublicfrom onSundays;hewasforeverdrawingasakid,thenstudiedat illustrationtopainting?“Complicated,weird.Iuse theBeaux-Arts.Amemoryfromhisfirstdrawing?Soldand Instagram,showingonlydetailsofawork,harkingbackto publishedattheverybeginningofthe1980s,forRock & thezoomed-informatsofmyearlydrawings!I’vealways Folk magazine,“ablack-and-whitedrawing,toillustrate lovedthemediaintheirday.Fromprintmagazinestoblogs, jokesaboutmusic,adecorativeflourish.”Postagestamp Ihavealwaysusedallavailablecommunicationchannels. format.Atthetime,DelhommeJean-Philippelistenedto Outsideofgallerywalls,Instagramiscurrentlytheonly The Cure,SkaandNew Wave.WithafootinRock & Folk, waytoshowsomething.” “I feltlikeIwasworkingatInterview forAndyWarhol!” Gettingabitofarushfromthepress,hegraspedthe Pared-down vision InJanuary 2021,Jean-Philippe advantageofbroadcasting.“I waspaintingatanearlier DelhommemovedbacktoParisandislivinginastudio stagebutwasadvisednottocontinue.Youwerearealloser onRueSchoelcher,anotherfamousaddressinthe ifyouweredoingartinthelate1970s,early’80s!”Sothe 14th arrondissementdedicatedtoart.Heworksthere, paintermadehismarkwithillustrationsandmanaged withthemosthonesteyepossible,theleastconditioned, togetafootinthedoor.Hissignaturemarkiseasyto becausealwaysinfrontofwhathesees.People,landscapes, recognize,there’ssomethingnaivetoit,ashysmile, objects.Theirpresence,nostyle,nohumor.Justavision, asheepishlookforjustbeingthere.Hedidfilmposters transcribedontocanvas(es)orwoodpanel(s),withabrush forAlmodóvarandKennethBranagh,aswellasbook andoilpaint,amuchmoredemandingtechnique.Thebest covers,andadsformajorhotelsanddepartmentstores spotstosourcematerials?SennelierinParisandBlick likeBarneys.TherewasalsoChanel,LouisVuittonand inNew York.Hiseyecaptivatedbyhissubjectsand afewothers.InadditiontosomehighlyoriginalPolaroids hisearsfilledwithmusic—electro,funk,jazzandmore. andtongue-in-cheekdesigns,healsoauthoredseveral Hisson,LewisOfMan,amusician,preferredkeyboards books,suchasClasse Ego,publishedin 2019. overbrushes.Otherwise,Delhomme,whojoinedtheteam ofcelebrityartistsatthePerrotingalleryaspartof Capturing the world Delhommehasdividedhistime “InProjectWith,”hasjustcreatedthemuralsfortheCarlyle betweenParisandNew Yorkforyears.AfterRueCampagne- &CoclubintheRosewoodhotelinHong Kong. 48