Neon Saints and Nightlife Legends: Pierre et Gilles Paint Paris Queer
Step into the world of Pierre et Gilles, where club lights and saintly halos share the same canvas. Since 1976, this inseparable French duo has blended photography and painting, crafting portraits that shimmer with myth, pop, and queer iconography. Their latest show, "Nuit électrique," pulses with the energy of Paris nightlife—think neon glows, cabaret glamour, and echoes of legendary clubs like Le Palace, once the city’s answer to Studio 54.
Each image is a carefully staged tableau, with friends and icons cast as everything from biblical figures to pop saints. Their process is intimate: all sets, costumes, and concepts are built in their home studio, allowing for playful, personal transformations. Whether immortalizing Kylie Minogue as a modern-day saint or Sam Smith as an angel, Pierre et Gilles fuse fantasy with identity, always celebrating the vibrant spectrum of queer culture.
Even as they poke fun at their own retirement in a recent self-portrait, their art refuses to age—forever electric, forever in love with reinvention.
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