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Pierre et Gilles first rose to prominence in the late 1970s as an artist duo in Paris’s punk, new wave, and underground scene. Immortalizing figures like Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, and Iggy Pop for Façade magazine, they developed their signature style  —  vividly colored, meticulously-staged portraits that blend photography and hand-painting. In their at-home studio they shoot subjects conjuring dream like tableaux with elaborate bespoke sets they make themselves, transforming humble materials like artificial flowers from the dollar store. Inspired by the beatific, devotional imagery of the Catholic saints, this approach elevates subcultural heroes and porn stars to modern-day ikons. The luminous, saturated glow of their creations reflects their combined virtuosity: Pierre Commoy manages camera work and lighting while Gilles Blanchard handpaints each image in a unique analog post-production technique. The resultant hyper-real aesthetic feels fantastical and visionary now, yet must have seemed utterly otherworldly five decades ago. Through the 1980s and 1990s, they were at the heart of Paris’s flamboyant and sexually liberated scene, collaborating closely with designers like Thierry Mugler and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and creating album covers for stars like Amanda Lear and Nina Hagen. Few artists are as beloved as Pierre et Gilles. For so many of their fans who first discovered them decades ago flipping through fashion magazines they were a gateway into camp fantasy, and their influence today is everywhere in television, film, fashion, and advertising. Boyfriends and collaborators for almost 50 years, Pierre et Gilles personify a life lived on their own terms: bright, romantic, and full of color.