Pierre Riollet graduated from the Auguste Renoir School of Art in Paris in 1983.
In 2003, after spending twenty years working in advertising as an Art Director, he decided to devote himself entirely to painting. The work of illustrator Norman Rockwell led him to explore the world of American Realism, particularly the paintings of Edward Hopper and Robert Cottingham, both of whom have had a profound influence on his artistic vision.
Following a journey across the United States in 1987, Riollet began a series focused on American storefronts and façades, paying special attention to the play of projected shadows. In 1989, he held his first exhibition dedicated to this theme.
Passionate about light and contrast, he later turned his attention to backlit scenes, choosing to work on larger formats. In his series Passages, dark frames enhance the luminosity of the inner subject, guiding the viewer’s eye toward a dazzling opening and creating a striking dialogue between shadow and light. One of the emblematic works of this series, Porto, opens onto the sea, heralding a new source of inspiration: water and its reflections.
In recent years, Pierre Riollet has devoted his work to the study of reflections on water, exploring the subtle ways in which light breaks apart into a myriad of colours and reflections. His works reveal thousands of tiny multicolored prisms, captured by the camera lens yet imperceptible to the naked eye, and faithfully translated onto canvas. The theme of backlighting reappears through the presence of swimmers, while the exploration of light remains the central thread running throughout his work.
