HUGO RUYANT

His work is a striking blend of bold, vibrant shapes that quietly unfold with an underlying dramatic tension. Driven by a practice that is both conceptual and poetic, he often develops his paintings as constellations of key images that function as evolving narratives.

Characters, objects, and animals appear in close-up, as if caught mid-action, staging condensed moments that echo the absurdity of the human condition. Hugo Ruyant’s paintings portray excess, fantasy, and social dynamics that guide our lives through a pictorial language marked by near-erotic linework and a deeply affective approach to color.

His solo exhibitions include Air Conditioner Fantasies at Michel Rein, Brussels (2025); The Handshake at Michel Rein, Paris (2024); and Survie et délices at Galerie Variation, Paris (2023).

In 2024, he exhibited in South Korea, first in Seoul in a major exhibition curated by Julia Gai and Minjin Park, and subsequently in Gapyeong as part of the Maqom Residency. His work has been presented in group exhibitions at Adaventura, Paris; Palais de l’Archevêché, Arles; Institut Français, Madrid; Pavillon de l’Arsenal, Paris; Espace Citroën, Paris; The Square, Geneva; and Fondation Moonens, Brussels, among others. In 2023, he was shortlisted for the REVELATIONS EMERIGE prize, and in 2022 for the International Painting Prize of Novembre à Vitry. His work is held in public and private collections, including Fondation Bredin Prat, Fondation Francès, Collection Pujade-Lauraine / Bianca, and Fondation Emerige.

He lives and works in Paris, France

Courtesy König Galerie