Old Masters, Young Players

Above image: The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault

May 29, 2015 / by Natacha Riva

We’ve seen Damien Hirst’s sharks in formaldehyde, Jeff Koons’ inflatable dogs and Incredible Hulks, but now there’s a newcomer to the modern art scene; Playmobil toys. The globally iconic children’s figurines are the subjects of Paris-born artist and illustrator Pierre-Adrien Sollier’s old master acrylic paintings. 

“They’re like a tribute to the old masters, who gave me the passion to paint,” he says, “I’m mixing the sacred with an offbeat quality.” Or in other words, his canvases represent a classic and contemporary crossover that’s highly reflective of the zeitgeist.  Sollier’s work is striking in that he creates a relationship with a timeless toy which engenders an instant affinity in the viewer.

Sollier’s first exhibition came as recently as 2011 in Galerie des Arts Graphiques on Boulevard St Germain in Paris - it was a revelation; sixteen of his 17 canvases sold. “Incredible,” is how he describes this early reaction to his work.  His distinctive art has since been gaining fans as fast as Playmobil sells. From July his work moves to Korea where it will be exhibited in the main gallery at Seongnam Arts Centre in Seoul from the July 25 until October 11 2015.

While still revisiting classic canvases of former times, Sollier has expanded to more contemporary themes of late. “I also want to put Playmobil in contemporary situations,” he says. “I want to expose what’s good and bad in the world through Playmobil, in the world of finance, fashion, pop culture, VIPs, and so on. 

He’s also planning a major initiative on the Flemish period of art that will revisit the movement’s history and some of its most iconic works by the likes of Jan van Eyck and Hieronymus Bosch. 

Sollier is an artist through and through.  Having studied art at the renowned L’Atelier de Sèvres in Paris, he completed his master’s degree at Central Saint Martins in London.  A love of animation saw him drawn to advertising and storyboarding.  He first started using the Playmobil figures in the storyboarding process, using them as models for mock-ups, when the idea suddenly dawned on him to start painting portraits of the figures.

His style employs the old master’s painting techniques, each canvas taking from six to eight weeks, and his works are distinguished by their artful authenticity.  He permits himself one artistic indulgence in the matter of signing his work though: look for his signature on the label of a wine bottle in his reworking of Edouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, and on the feet of The Raft of the Medusa. “This form of technique is very often used in Trompe-l’œil style,” he jokes. “It’s like a secret code.”

Does he do bespoke? “Yes, I do. Some clients tell me what they want, as a present for someone or a birthday.” Recently trading in his Belleville atelier for a larger space at Place de la Nation that previously belonged to a fellow artist - he relocated in May. “Now I can work on really big format, which I couldn’t do before,” he says.

Ultimately Sollier – whose first old master work was Théodore Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa (1818) – feels art must be accessible to all. “I’m more like a storyteller,” he says. “Yes I like to give a message, but I’m not a historian, or political satirist, that’s not really the point. The popular culture should be accessible to everyone.”

He finds the Playmobil aesthetic the perfect medium too. “The figures have hooks instead of hands. That creates a different narrative. They are always smiling. That never changes and also creates humour; that feeling of the offbeat, the fixed smile, the body language, can in fact tell us a lot.” 

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