Untitled, 2019

Romain Duris   New & remarkable Artists

Romain Duris, a major figure in French cinema, began his career in 1994 with The Young Peril by Cédric Klapisch, a cult film that marked the start of a long and fruitful collaboration with the director. With more than forty feature films in his filmography, Duris has worked with some of the most renowned filmmakers, including Tony Gatlif, Christophe Honoré, Jacques Audiard, Patrice Chéreau, Michel Gondry, François Ozon, Érick Zonca, and Ridley Scott.

However, Duris' creative pursuits extend beyond acting into the world of visual arts. In 2024, Duris' involvement in the art world continued to thrive. Although he is still highly active in cinema, with his poignant performance in Une part manquante (directed by Guillaume Senez) capturing attention, his art remains central to his expression. His exhibitions continue to blur the lines between his film career and visual art, offering a unique perspective on human emotion and identity.

Initially drawn to illustration and art from a young age, he began to express his imagination through darkly humorous and erotic drawings. Throughout his adolescence, Duris accumulated a personal collection of sketches, doodles, and notebooks—an artistic practice that remained mostly private for years. In 2017, his early work was unveiled for the first time in a solo exhibition at the Galerie Cinema, followed by the publication of his first book Pulp (Éditions Textuel), offering a glimpse into his multifaceted artistic world.

In 2019, Duris presented his second solo show Feroce at the Galerie Cinema, where he explored themes of transformation and the human body. In this exhibition, Duris focused on the changing form of the body—depicting figures in a state of assertion and metamorphosis. A companion book Féroce, published by Editions NOEVE, accompanied the show, further cementing Duris' position as an artist capable of blending his cinematic background with his visual art practices.

Through his artwork, Romain Duris has shown his ability to channel the dark, ironic humor and sensuality often present in his films into a rich visual language, earning recognition not only for his performances on screen but for his evocative work in the art world.