INTRIGUE AND INTRICACIES

Parisian artist Ugo Gattoni takes us through his elaborately designed poster for the Olympics and Paralympics in his home city this month

- Zabrina Lo

It was an immediate “yes” when Frenchborn artist Ugo Gattoni received an Instagram message from the organising committee for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, inviting him to design the poster for the Games. “It’s [been] a dream to draw these legendary posters,” he says. The artist, whose surreal style intricately interweaves depictions of cityscapes and people, has attracted an array of commissions from and collaboration with brands including Hermès, Rolex and Pierre Frey. He tells Tatler what it was like to create for a different “arena” and how the city inspired his design.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are multifaceted; Paris is a vast, historic city. How did you decide what details to include in the poster?

In the [early] discussions, we [decided] we were going for a level of detail that would allow all the sports to be included in the painting. I first created the Olympic and Paralympic arena with all the sports, then the monuments of Paris and little things from my [imaginary] universe. It’s a big mix of everything.

What elements of Paris did you most enjoy depicting?

What I liked the most are the little corners of the daily lives of workers along the river or people chilling and eating. I drew a couple chilling under weeping willow trees, which is a typical tree in Paris. These micro, hidden details bring the drawings to life.