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Stamped with the seal of "contemporary impressionism," Gérard Le Roux draws extensive inspiration from historical and international events to express his art. Thus, for the 40th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, he was the only artist asked by the President of the Republic François Mitterrand to immortalize "the longest day" with a work. The original of this painting was presented to the Élysée Palace, and each of the five heads of state present at the ceremonies received an original reproduction. The artist, known as the "painter of heads of state," then acquired worldwide renown.
Particularly fond of the United States, Gérard Le Roux set up his studio there at the end of 1984. For seven years, he worked at 121 Green Street in the Soho district of New York.
This was followed by a long series of exhibitions in New York (Thierry Gelomini Gallery), Washington (Alex Gallery) and Europe.
In 1985, he began one of his major works: a six-meter by four-meter canvas celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution. This giant canvas was exhibited at the Lincoln Center in New York between two Chagall paintings and then at the Place de la Bastille in Paris during the festivities of July 14 and 15, 1989.
In 1988, he was commissioned by the Banque de France to create the models for the 50 and 500 franc banknotes bearing the effigies of Saint-Exupéry and Pierre and Marie Curie. It was also in the 1980s, following a fruit tasting, that he decided to start sculpting giant fruits in bronze and marble. He drew his inspiration from the heart of Tuscany in Pietrasanta. This is where the "Le Roux orchard" was born. He worked there in monumental workshops, alongside Botero, Folon, Arman.
In 1989, the American Secretary of the Interior officially invited him to paint at the foot of the Statue of Liberty in order to immortalize the work of Bartoldi and Gustave Eiffel on a canvas measuring seven meters by five. This work, depicting the towers of Manhattan with the Statue of Liberty in the foreground, will find its permanent home at the National Torch Museum on Liberty Island and is now part of the permanent collection of American cultural heritage.
In June 1997, René Monory, then President of the Senate, invited Gérard to present a retrospective of his works at the Palais de l'Orangerie in Luxembourg. Across 1,000 square meters, 120 paintings and 10 monumental sculptures were exhibited.
That same year, he painted a portrait of Lady Diana, who had visited him at his studio in Saint-Tropez two months before the fatal accident. At the request of Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, this work will soon be auctioned by Sotheby's in New York (estimated value $2,500,000) to benefit the foundation created in Lady Diana's memory for underprivileged children.
Gérard Le Roux was marked by his residence in New York. At the turn of the millennium, he created a giant bronze apple to donate to the city. It weighed 53 tons, was 20 meters high and 15 meters wide. It would become the most imposing sculpture after the Statue of Liberty and was to be placed in Central Park.
Distributed worldwide, the pictorial and sculptural work of Gérard Le Roux is that of a great artist of recent decades and is prized by the major collectors he receives at his stopover in Saint-Tropez.
