La vie en rose: 40 years of Pierre et Gilles – in pictures

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From Boy George crossed with Krishna to Serge Gainsbourg as an imprisoned Santa, a new book traces four decades of brilliant images from the photographer and painter couple Pierre and Gilles

Fri 17 Feb 2017 07.00 GMT Last modified on Wed 19 Oct 2022 16.03 BST

• Iggy Pop (1977). Model: Iggy Pop, created for Façade magazine

  French artists Pierre and Gilles have been together for 40 years, making a dizzying array of fantastical tableaux with stars of stage and screen since they met in the 1970s. Pierre et Gilles: 40 is published by Flammarion with Galerie Daniel Templon.All photographs: © Pierre et Giles/Galerie Templon Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• Gainsbarre (1988). Model: Serge Gainsbourg, cover of Télérama magazine

  Pierre Commoy settled in Paris in 1972 following military service, and via nights out alongside the likes of Grace Jones and David Bowie at the Le Sept nightclub, began publishing his photos in fashion magazines Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• A Lover Spurned (1989). Models: Marc Almond and Marie-France Garcia, record sleeve of Marc Almond’s A Lover Spurned

  Gilles Blanchard studied painting in his childhood home of Le Havre, then moved to Paris, where he too immersed himself in the underground Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• Paloma Picasso (1990). Model: Paloma Picasso, cover of Jardin des Modes magazine

  Gilles had a been collecting photo-booth pictures since he was 16. After meeting Pierre, these pictures would become the first of the couple’s artistic preoccupations Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• Jean-Paul Gaultier (1990). Model: Jean-Paul Gaultier, book cover of À Nous Deux la Mode by Patrick Rambaud and Jean-Paul Gaultier

  Gilles knew illustrator Phillippe Morillon, who held infamous parties at his apartment. It was at one of these that Gilles met Robert Mapplethorpe, with whom he would travel across the US Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• En Plein Coeur (Right Through the Heart) (2016). Model: TOP (Choi Seung-Hyun)

  On his travels with Mapplethorpe, Gilles said: ‘Through the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, we traveled all the way down to Los Angeles in a splendid white Cadillac convertible’ Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• Krishna (1989). Model: Boy George, created for Blitz magazine

  Pierre and Gilles met in September 1976 at the launch of Kenzo’s first boutique in Paris Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• Portrait de Lady Swinton (1996). Model: Tilda Swinton

  They travelled the world together and reflected their global outlook in their art. Proudly exotic, their work drew on influences from all continents, including artists from the Arab world such as Umm Kulthum, Abdel Halim Hafez and Farid al-Atrash Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• Le Dahlia noir (2003). Model: Dita von Teese

  The couple’s practice originally involved Pierre taking the photographs and Gilles painting over them – they later collaborated on immaculately designed and realised photographic scenes Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• Ophélie (2012). Model: Isabelle Huppert

  The pair’s style is instantly recognisable, combining kitsch, beauty, and aspirational dreamscapes Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• Funny Balls (2012). Model: Marc Jacobs, created for Man About Town magazine

  The two never use PhotoShop, an act of resistance against technology that emphasises their skills in production design Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• Crazy Love (2014). Model: Conchita Wurst, created for the Crazy Horse cabaret, Paris

  Jeff Koons believes the pair have shaped culture as we know it today: ‘It’s hard to think of contemporary culture without the influence of Pierre et Gilles, from advertising to fashion photography, music video, and film. Their highly saturated images, making reference to art history and religious iconography, create a visual impact that transcends cultures around the world. This is truly global art’ Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

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