Bertrand Meniel (Paintings, 1996-2024)

Photorealism is a genre of painting that developed in the United States and Europe using high-resolution photography as its primary source material. Embracing dig- ital photography perhaps more than any other artist working in this genre, French- born Bertrand Meniel (1961–) is able to incorporate an astonishing amount of detail into his renderings of cityscapes in New York City, Miami, and Paris. Primarily self-taught and with no preliminary experimental, developmental, or student work, by 1996 Meniel was creating works with powerful, distinctive, and very original imagery, having mastered techniques and skills that normally require a lifetime. Using a variety of photographs of his chosen subject, he manipulates an image to perfection, focusing simultaneously on the foreground and background by combing hundreds of shots on a computer screen. His choice to depict iconic American scenes in his paintings, particularly those associated with the “American Way of Life,” reflects not just a technical mastery of Photorealism but a deep emotional connection to the culture that captivated him during his youth. His unique perspective, influenced by French artistic traditions and shaped by exposure to American pop culture, allows him to capture in his art the essence of what may be best described as the “New York State of Mind."