Philippe Lardy

Philippe Lardy, born in Switzerland in 1963,is a painter, illustrator, comic book artist and art director. He attends the School of Visual Arts in the late 80's in New York, taking the classes of Will Eisner and Jerry Moriarty. He co-publishes "GIN & COMIX" with Jose Ortega, inspired by RAW magazine,a ground-breaking publication directed by Art Spiegelman, bringing together an international showcase of artists. Lardy draws for numerous prominent American periodicals, publishers and corporations. Among his clients are Time magazine, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker. Subjects are often symbolic and explore the dreamlike nature of archetypes. Lardy moves to Paris in 2000 to give greater emphasis to his paintings.

Since 2008, he has been art directing a french publication "Almanach Soldes Fin de Séries" with designer and editor Marc Borgers. The Almanac features a range of international painters, illustrators, comic book artists, writers and philosophers, in a large format.

A number of chapters of his graphic novel "Hypersomnia" is featured in "Soldes". A sequential narration inspired by images of the subconscious: the peregrinations of an artist in search of inspiration. The main character is going through often traumatizing, sometime enlightening situations in his search for the ultimate work of Art.This comic strip is drawn in a detailed manner, in echo of the pre-modernist images of Max Klinger. In contrast,Philippe Lardy's gallery art often shows flat geometrical shapes and colors.

Lardy has been honored with awards such as American Illustration, Communication Arts, the Society of Illustrators, PRINT magazine or GRAPHIS. He produces editorial illustrations and gallery art, both of which have been widely exhibited. Philippe Lardy is the co-founder of "Le Crayon", the French illustration society.