Pierre et Gilles: 40 is a retrospective of four decades of work by the French artist duo Pierre et Gilles, published in 2016 for the anniversary of their partnership.
The book follows the oeuvre year by year and includes an essay by the art historian Éric Troncy. Its subjects include Madonna, Naomi Campbell and Karl Lagerfeld. Flammarion issued it as a trade edition and as a limited art edition of 200 copies with a signed and numbered print in a clamshell case.
Pierre Commoy (born 1950, La Roche-sur-Yon) is a photographer and Gilles Blanchard (born 1953, Le Havre) a painter. They met in Paris in autumn 1976 and began working together in 1977. They stage subjects in studio sets, then paint over the prints, a method that places their pictures between art history and popular culture. Their exhibitions include a 1996 retrospective at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, the New Museum in New York in 2000 and the Jeu de Paume in Paris in 2007.
Notes
Publisher is Flammarion, NOT Taschen. Editions: (a) trade English, 9782080202802 (Rizzoli USA, Templon, AbeBooks; cover fetched from AbeBooks by this ISBN); (b) 9782080204271 listed by Rizzoli Bookstore/Amazon as 'Pierre et Gilles: 40 (trade edition)' (Rizzoli bookstore page returned 418, unverified; may be a reprint/alt printing); (c) French 'Pierre et Gilles - 40 ans' sold by Templon, ISBN not read from source, AbeBooks shows 9782081391079 titled 'Pierre & Gilles, 40' (unverified as the French edition); (d) limited art edition of 200 copies with signed print (Rizzoli). User's shelf copy may be the French or English text: Flammarion cover is identical; check the copy's language before ingesting. Artist official site not confirmed (pierreetgilles.com check returned no usable result), so authors[0].url null. Cover 404x500 is small (AbeBooks); Templon's 398x425 image is worse. Author naming follows existing id 878 (last 'Pierre et Gilles', first empty). Pub date 29 Nov 2016 per Rizzoli USA. No prices recorded.
