Nicolas Buffe

Nicolas Buffe is a contemporary artist from France who works in Japan. As the creator behind a multifaceted, interdisciplinary world combining erudite and popular culture, Nicolas perfectly blends different motifs into unique and eccentric art. His inspiration comes from the Renaissance, Hollywood cinema, as well as Japanese cartoons. His work questions borders and, therefore, identities: identities of men, cultures, and styles. Nicolas creates decorative, highly detailed artworks with a combination of traditional techniques with contemporary design and illustrative styles and animation. It is almost like his art has the ability to articulate the fantasy and imaginative plot of our world.

Born in 1978, he belongs to a generation naturally marked by Japanese culture, developing from childhood a passion for cartoons, manga, and video games. These references were supplemented throughout the course of his studies by classic works of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, such as The Romance of the Rose and The Dream of Poliphilus. This blending of narrative and visual influences is omnipresent in his work, which is based on the humanistic notion of «serio ludere» or «playing seriously».

His work has been presented in France and internationally through exhibitions and outstanding installations, such as in La Maison Rouge (2007, Le Vestibule), Tokyo Contemporary art museum (2008), MAD Paris (2010, Circuit Céramique), Hara Museum of contemporary art de Tokyo (2014, soloshow), Théâtre du Châtelet – Paris and Nijō Castle – Kyoto (Nuit Blanche 2016), French May at Hong Kong City Hall, and K11 Hong Kong (2017 soloshows), Sèvres : 300 Creative years (2017-2018, Suntory Museum – Tokyo and Osaka, Hagi, Shizuoka). Roppongi Art Night (2018, Tokyo) and Magiques Licornes at Musée de Cluny – Paris (2018-19). Over the winter of 2018-2019, he set up a monumental installation inside Ginza Six in Tokyo.