Hermentaire (b. 1972, France) is a multidisciplinary artist based between Paris and Paros, whose practice integrates painting, drawing, music composition, filmmaking and photography into a cohesive creative artistic expression. While his early career was established through composing original soundtracks for documentary films, Hermentaire has consistently maintained a parallel visual arts practice, signing his pictorial work under this name, derived from his third middle name and referencing the saint famed for slaying the dragon in his hometown in southern France.
Hermentaire’s visual language has evolved across diverse formats and media, notably through the interplay of acrylic on canvas and the subtle transparency of watercolour on paper. His engagement with watercolour exploits its capacity for layering and luminosity, enabling the construction of complex chromatic fields that underpin his figurative and abstract compositions. The delicate balance between opacity and translucency in his watercolours contrasts with the tactile density in his acrylic works, reflecting a strong command of medium-specific techniques.
Thematically, Hermentaire develops an imaginative universe populated by zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures collectively termed the “Djambo O’cibilé,” an invented tribe inspired by African heritage and personal interest in mythology. These figures, rendered in monochrome palettes of black, brown, blue, or gold, express nuanced psychological states and possess distinct, often enigmatic personalities. His compositional strategies involve situating these characters within spatial environments that evoke natural landscapes disrupted by contemporary ecological and social tensions. The recurrent motif of the eye found in all his paintings, functions both figuratively and abstractly, serving as a symbol of vigilance and perception within these contested spaces.
Hermentaire’s multidisciplinary approach extends to filmmaking, where he co-directed and co-produced the award-winning short film Cosmos Melancolia (2023) with Alexandra Leroux, for which he also composed the soundtrack. His work embodies a sustained interrogation of narrative, memory and identity through a fusion of technical mastery across multiple art forms, positioning him as a singular voice in contemporary multidisciplinary practice.