GASPARD GIRARD D'ALBISSIN
Forthcoming exhibition
Overview
Sans titre, 2026, Huile sur toile, 195 x 130 cm
L'ANCIEN JARDIN DES PRISONNIERS
PREND FEU
SANS FAIRE DE BRUIT
For his second solo exhibition at Prima, Gaspard Girard d’Albissin presents a new body of paintings based on found photographs. The artist draws images from the digital stream, selecting a particular composition, quality of light or material, before translating them into painting. Rather than seeking a common narrative, his works bring together scenes whose singularity often lies in a single detail. Following Un balcon en forêt (2025), this exhibition brings together a red vinyl trench coat, a horse in its stable and a golden blanket draped over a bed. These different subjects share a particular relationship to light: flashes, reflections, folds and shimmering surfaces redirect our attention, sometimes allowing the material itself to take precedence over the object depicted. Fashion runs through the exhibition without becoming its sole subject.
“A big part of what attracts me is how they reflect light.”
Drawing on anonymous photographs, fashion imagery and everyday snapshots, his process begins with selecting and reframing images. He then works in oil, building up layers and glazes, while resisting the temptation to push the representation towards an illusionistic finish. Although photographic reproductions of his works may suggest otherwise, encountering the paintings in person reveals visible brushstrokes, unresolved areas and painterly shorthand. Gaspard Girard d’Albissin is careful not to “overpaint”: he preserves the brushwork and leaves room for the viewer to complete the image.
“I also try not to finish things too completely, because I think it’s very important for the viewer to bring something of themselves to complete them.”
Framing plays a part in this economy of means. Faces are often left out, bodies fragmented, and attention shifts elsewhere: towards a garment, a gesture or a surface. The image remains familiar, yet its translation into painting alters both its perception and its sense of time.
Three paintings in the exhibition were developed in partnership with NOVEMBRE magazine, which invited the artist to work from a selection of fashion photographs. These works will also be featured in the magazine’s January 2027 issue.
Born in 1988, Gaspard Girard d’Albissin lives and works in Paris, at the Wonder studios in Bobigny. Largely self-taught, with additional training at the Ateliers Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, he has been developing his oil painting practice for over a decade. He has held solo exhibitions at Galerie Javault – Eva Pritsky and Scroll in 2024, followed by Prima in 2025. His work has also been exhibited in New York (IRL Gallery), and he collaborates with Tang Contemporary Art.
Works
