Born in France, Thierry Despont studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and earned a Master’s in Urban Design from Harvard. After founding his architectural firm in 1980, he built a prestigious reputation, working on landmark projects such as the Statue of Liberty’s Centennial Restoration, the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Decorative Arts Galleries, and high-end hotels like the Carlyle in New York and Claridge’s in London. His many high profile clients included the likes of Bill Gates and Calvin Klein.
While best known for these projects, Despont was a no less accomplished visual artist. His enthusiasms were myriad, and his work focused on an almost incredible range of subjects, including but not limited to entymology, ichthyology, anthopology, history, and astronomy. The very smallest of earth's creatures, like insects, captivated him no less than the universe’s very largest—planetary bodies and the cosmos. All of his work was informed by an unrivaled art-historical expertise, lead by a wholly unique imagination, and driven by an omniverous curiousity for life and the very nature of existence.
A Knight of the French Legion of Honor and an Interior Design Hall of Fame inductee, Despont also authored design books. He exhibited his paintings and sculptures globally, notably at the Marlborough Gallery in New York, London, and Monaco.
Thierry Despont, Found Object Mask Sculpture, US, c. 2006
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont was best-known for his very successful architectural practice—but he was also an accomplished artist. Some of his most interesting works are a series of sculptures fa...
Metal
Thierry Despont, Found Object Sculpture of Insect, United States, 20th Century
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont was best-known for his very successful architectural practice—but he was also an accomplished artist. Some of his most interesting works are a series of sculptures fa...
Metal
RF 0426, Framed Print of a Pair of Fish by Thierry Despont
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont, best-known for his very successful architectural practice, was also an accomplished artist. As a painter (and sculptor) he frequently took for subjects the smallest,...
Paper
Found Object Sculpture of a Dragon, Thierry Despont, 20th Century
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont was best-known for his very successful architectural practice—but he was also an accomplished artist. Some of his most interesting works are a series of sculptures fa...
Metal
RF 0411, Framed Print of a Pair of Fish by Thierry Despont
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont, best-known for his very successful architectural practice, was also an accomplished artist. As a painter (and sculptor) he frequently took for subjects the smallest,...
Paper
NB 10, Large-scale Painting of a Planet by Thierry Despont
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont, best-known as a very successful architect, was also an accomplished artist. In his painting practice, when not analyzing the smallest, most detailed creatures of the...
Enamel
NB 29, Large-scale Painting of a Planet by Thierry Despont
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont, best-known as a very successful architect, was also an accomplished artist. In his painting practice, when not analyzing the smallest, most detailed creatures of the...
Enamel
Framed Print of a Pair of Fish from the collection of Thierry Despont
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont, best-known for his very successful architectural practice, was also an accomplished artist. As a painter (and sculptor) he frequently took for subjects the smallest,...
Paper
Framed Print Depicting a Fish from the collection of Thierry Despont
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont, best-known for his very successful architectural practice, was also an accomplished artist. As a painter (and sculptor) he frequently took for subjects the smallest,...
Paper
Framed Drawing of an Insect from the collection of Thierry Despont
By Thierry Despont
Located in New York, NY
Thierry Despont was best-known for his very successful architectural practice—but he was also an accomplished artist. Some of his most interesting works are a series of sculptures fa...
Paper