Pop Art Box, 2019

Maxime Lhermet  

Maxime Lhermet was born in Sète in 1974. He currently lives and works in France.

Artist in non-academic painting which falls between figurative and abstract, his particular technique of burnt plastic is put at the service of his urban representations.

The artist loads his canvases with an unusual volume and depth.

His paintings always begin with a preliminary drawing with an indelible marker that the following phases will cover but not erase.

Maxime Lhermet works on large plastic sheeting on top of one another and fine wire mesh, a pop art revisited with a blowtorch, US street scenes with pin-ups, yellow taxis and pubs in saturated colors.

It exploits all the possibilities of relief offered by the honeycomb material and the grids.

The flags are made from the collage on the canvas of a very thick plastic derivative. The entire surface is then burned with a torch which sculpts the molten material. The canvas is burnt again following the shapes and patterns of the chosen country which are painted with industrial lacquer which gives better contrasts of colors and light.

Maxime Lhermet also sanctified his favorite characters, updated them to end up making them totally his own and making them his icons.