Illustrating the only thing that truly matters: love

Photo: Clément Legrand.

While some old masters fetishized the male body, the idea of an openly queer artist expressing his desires from a queer perspective was only born in the last century. Through his drawings, Clément Legrand reimagines, undresses, and shows men in intimate narratives that make clear how a new generation of artists is emerging. The French graphic designer and director started his journey as an artist when he was asked to illustrate some songs. This marked the beginning of his career as  an illustrator. His style is polished, sexually charged, and has a platonic desire that captures and captivates anyone. Some of the statements conveyed in his work are about being more comfortable in your body, togetherness, confidence, alterity, and the full-blown delight of love. He showcases his drawings primarily on Instagram, but also has some work on his website. 

Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

Karen: How were your beginnings in art? 

Clément: I am surrounded by artists, sculptors, tattoo artists, street artists.  This allowed me to be advised on this universe. Then I just needed  to express myself and that's how my art was born 

K: In your website, you mention that your artistic universe is  inspired by Tom Ford´s porn-chic commercials. Could you tell  us a little more about this? 

C: Tom Ford is one of the artists who inspired me in my life. I like his  very aesthetic vision which mixes sex and masculinity to achieve a subtle balance of provocation and beauty.

Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

K: Have you ever felt intimidated, and at the same time, stimulated  by sharing your work on social media?  

C: I never know how social media will react to my creations and I  admit it is often surprising. I think that in order not to be  intimidated, you just have to have fun without really paying  attention to the rest. 

K: What type of reactions have you obtained from your followers  and people that visit your social media accounts? 

C: I must say that my followers are adorable, every day I receive  messages of love and of encouragement. It is a really good energy to continue on this path. But the reaction that I find the most  incredible is when people want to have a tattoo of my illustrations  on their bodies. It really touches me. 

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram @clemenlegrand

K: What roles does love play in your visual philosophy? Are your  pieces connected by the same subjects or are they all  separated feelings embodied into illustrations?

C: Love is the guideline of all my creations and at the same time it  represents what I feel. The good and the bad times, because that  is also love ... 

K: Have you ever experienced rejection as a consequence of  sharing work highly provocative? 

C: On the contrary I believe that the more provocative a visual, the more well-received. It is especially the censorship of social  networks that scares me. But very often this censorship is  disproportionate. These are just drawings …

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram @clemenlegrand.

K: Your style is very unique. How was the previous process that  helped you arrive at your current artistic signature? 

C: Thank you very much. It is my love of men, the magazines of my  childhood, and working every day to find the perfect line that makes my signature style. 

K: Your strokes undress and show sexualized men like almost no  other artist does. How important do you think it is today to  portray these subjects through arts and why? 

C: It is important to portray these subjects to show that it does not  matter our sexuality. We all operate the same. We must stop  putting people in boxes. 

K: Apart from illustrating, you do broderie and sculpture. Is there  any other medium in which you would like to work on? If yes,  why? 

C: There are so many mediums that I can't wait to explore. But the  one that attracts me the most is the neon one. I find the work of  the glassblower to be captivating as it gives a real luminous soul  to the illustration. His message emerges more demandingly. I  can't wait to look into this project! 

Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

K: What advice would you give to young artists that want to  understand and learn about communicating body motion?

C: You shouldn't hesitate to look at nudes, take pictures, scrutinize  your own body or dissect choreographies. Doing these things  allowed me to understand the poetry of certain postures.

K: What kind of pieces are you working on nowadays?  

C: For a year, I have been working on busts with my sculptor friend  Damien Laturaze. As well as a clip for a song that I co-wrote, but  there is still a lot of work and a lot of surprises coming  up. It is not always easy to reconcile personal and artistic life even if the two are closely linked.

Photo: Courtesy of the artist.