Gallery Prima, Paris, Photo: Rebecca Fanuele
Tell us a bit about your background. And how did it come to the collaboration with Galerie Prima in Paris?
My background is a bit unusual; I didn’t go to art school. I have mainly painted on my own for ten years and didn’t want to sell or particularly look to exhibit. Then created an Instagram account, which opened up a lot of opportunities, and that’s how, luckily, Galerie Prima became aware of my work.
Lighting, and the almost direct flash light on your figures, plays an important role in your work—it creates the atmosphere. How influenced are you by photography as a medium?
Yes, you’re right, direct flash light has a really important role in my work, I even choose my subject for the way they’re going to interact with this kind of light.
Then there’s direct influence from photography since it’s the rapid capture of the camera that gives the possibility to see and paint this kind of light.
Textures in your paintings are almost alive; the viewer can almost feel the silk fabric when a silk blouse is depicted, the velvet of a couch. The hair, with all its imperfections, catches the light in your paintings so beautifully. Do you see your works as a celebration of beauty and the richness of materials?
I tried to avoid psychology, which is why the human face is almost always put out of the composition. I found some truth and emotional impact in the strong reflection of light on those materials. If the head is present in the painting, your eyes will automatically focus on it, and the rest won’t really get the same attention. I won’t put that much intention in my paintings, to say that it’s a celebration of beauty, though, I preferred them to stay open.
Where do the motifs in your paintings come from? Do you have an archive of possible motifs, or do you sketch a lot?
All the paintings come from photography. I don’t limit myself to the source of these images, but since there are so many pictures online, most of them come from there. I spend a lot of time looking for them and retouching them.
Tell us about the LE WONDER atelier. What does a typical day in the studio look like?
Le Wonder has a name that corresponds to itself. It’s really an amazing place where 70 artists all have big workspaces and access to a very large range of machines, from really heavy metal machines to a big ceramic oven, passing by a video editing station. I feel really lucky to be a part of that.
I try to be consistent in my work as I go to the studio every working day of the week from 10 to 7.
Fake rings, 90s hairstyles—how interested are you in fashion?
I tried for my paintings not to be too strongly attached to my specific period of time; I don’t want them to be remembered by that.
What are you looking forward to in 2026?
2026 is looking to be another year of hard work for me. I have a duo show in New York with IRL in March, the ArtParis fair with Prima in April, another fair with Tang Contemporary Art in Beijing in May, and a solo show with Prima in Autumn, if I manage to complete enough paintings. But I’m not complaining, I love painting.
Gaspard Girard d’Albissin – www.instagram.com/dalbissin/
Gaspard Girard d’Albissin (b. 1988, France) captures fragments of everyday life, transforming them into striking and unsettling images. Fascinated by modern banality, he draws inspiration from found online photographs, fashion scenes, and unassuming snapshots. By enhancing these images with saturated details, dramatic lighting, and intense contrasts, he gives them a unique depth. In his paintings, a hand adorned with fake jewelry or a latex garment caught in the glare of a flash becomes a symbol of contemporary aesthetics, blending fleeting beauty with the illusion of appearances.
