Originally known for his performances as a speed painter, Franck Bouroullec travelled across the world to create an upside-down portrait of some of the most famous people. Then, he decided to dedicate himself to his own studio work.
Focusing primarily on people or animal faces, his paintings are characterized by energetic and discernible brush strokes combined with a truly astounding sense of colour. He has a deep visual understanding of the human form that allows him to capture the true essence of his characters. The result is rich portraits that fuse creative sensibilities of realism, abstraction, and graffiti. His paintings celebrate famous figures with the same sensitivity as unknown strangers.
Recently, he took a more abstract approach, that resulted in a greater sense of freedom in his work. His work brings together pop culture, animation drawings, and diverse graffiti influences.
Bouroullec’s work has received increasing attention in recent years.
Simultaneously with his solo exhibitions in Switzerland and France, his last projects include a mural painting to commemorate the bicentenary of Gustave Courbet’s birth in La Tour-de-Peilz, and remodelling of the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace’s façade, one of the Petit Palais spaces, , for the opening of his exhibition. He is currently working on a new project involving the decoration of green spaces at the Tour-de-Peilz.
Having developed an interest in drawing at a young age, he attended the prestigious school of graphic art, ESAG, in Paris and graduated in animation filmmaking from the famous school of image, Gobelins. Starting his career as a storyboard artist, he then worked as a theatre decorator. After he discovered the magic of going on stage, he created his first performances, and later moved on to focus on his studio works.
Franck Bouroullec was born in Tours, France, in 1967. He currently lives and works in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland.