Using composite digital photography, self-taught artist Bertrand Meniel incorporates more detail into each of his cityscapes than any other Photorealist to date. Photorealism is a genre of painting that developed in the United States and Europe using high-resolution photography as its primary source material. Embracing digital photography perhaps more than any other artist working in this genre, Bertrand Meniel is able to incorporate an astonishing amount of detail into his renderings of cityscapes in New York City, Miami, and Paris. Using a variety of photographs of his chosen subject, he manipulates an image to perfection, focusing simultaneously on the foreground and background by combining 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."
