Friday, July 24, 2026

Artist of the Day, July 24, 2026 : François Schuiten, a Belgian draftsman (#2587)

 Artist to watch closely in the next few years! 

François Schuiten
(1956) is a Belgian draftsman. Born in Brussels into a dynasty of architects, Schuiten did not pursue the family trade in the traditional sense, but instead became the preeminent "architect of the page." He made his professional debut at just 17 in the legendary magazine Pilote, alongside titans like Moebius and Druillet. 

His obsession with the structural integrity of environments would become his artistic signature, most famously realized in the monumental series Les Cités Obscures (The Obscure Cities). Created alongside writer Benoît Peeters, this 25-year project remains one of the most intellectually ambitious works in comics, depicting a parallel world of fantastical urbanism and retro-futuristic technology. 

Schuiten’s work is characterized by an extraordinary level of technical precision, blending the intricate cross-hatching of 19th-century engravings with a profound understanding of Art Nouveau and industrial design. His influence eventually spilled over from the drawing board into the real world as he transitioned into high-profile scenography. He is the visionary behind the redesign of the Arts et Métiers metro station in Paris—famously transformed into a copper-clad Nautilus—and played a pivotal role in preserving architectural history through the restoration of the Maison Autrique, the first house designed by the Art Nouveau pioneer Victor Horta. 

A recipient of the Grand Prix de la ville d’Angoulême in 2002, the industry's highest honor, Schuiten has expanded his creative reach into film, animation, and international exhibition design. His ability to build worlds that feel both impossible and structurally plausible has cemented his legacy as a master of the "Ninth Art." Whether designing a fictional metropolis or a physical public space, Schuiten remains a tireless explorer of the relationship between man, his environment, and the beauty of the built world. 
© 2026. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by François Schuiten or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

François Schuiten
The Celestial Way, 1999
La Type 12 - Halte en forêt, 2015
Dialogues, 2016
 L'Atlantic 12, 2016
La Type 12 - De Nuit, 2015
Les Cités obscures - L'enfant penchée, 2017
Révolution Bande Dessinée, 2017
Un artiste dans la ville, 2018
La Type 29 - Entrée en Gare de Schaerbeek, 2019
Objectif Mars, 2021
Paris-Bruxelles - La Type 12, 2021
Ralentir, 2021
Utopies Bruxelloises, 2021
Sur les épaules des géants 2022, 2022
Balade au coeur des anciens Magasins Waucquez, 2023
Futura train, 2023
La lampe aux Nymphes, 2023
Le retour du Capitaine Nemo - Entre les tours, 2023 
La Type 12 - New-York, 2024
Le Nauti-Poulpe, 2024
Périgueux, 2024
Retour à Cherbourg, 2024
Revoir Paris, 2024 
Sur les épaules des géants 2024, 2024
Bruxelles, un rêve capital, 2025
Compulsion - North America, 2025
Compulsion - Northern Italy, 2025
Festival du Livre de Paris, 2025
Livre Libre, 2025
Moby Train, 2026

Thursday, July 23, 2026

Artist of the Day, July 23, 2026 : Odile Decq, a French architect, urban planner, product designer (#2586)

 Odile Decq is a French architect and urban planner. International renown came in 1990 with her first major commission: La Banque Populaire de l’Ouest in Rennes, France. Since then, she has been faithful to her fighting attitude while diversifying and radicalizing her research. Being awarded The Golden Lion of Architecture during the Venice Biennale in 1996 acknowledged her early and unusual career. Other than just a style, an attitude or a process, Odile Decq’s work materializes a complete universe that embraces urban planning, architecture, design and art.

Her multidisciplinary approach was recently recognized with the Jane Drew Prize in 2016, and she was honored with Architizer’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 for her pioneering work, but also her engagement and contribution to the debate on architecture. In 2018, she received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, in recognition of her outstanding contributions in building science, design and education. The same year in October, she received the ECC Architecture Award 2018 for her contribution both as an architect and educator, and in November an Honorary Fellowship from The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland.

Odile Decq has been teaching architecture for the past 25 years. She has been invited to be a guest professor in prestigious universities such as the Bartlett (London), the Kunstakademie (Vienna & Düsseldorf), SCI-Arc (Los Angeles), Columbia University (New York), and more recently at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (Cambridge).

In France, she was Head of l’École Spéciale d’Architecture (ESA) in Paris from 2007 to 2012, after teaching there for 15 years. Following this experience, she created her own school in 2014 now located in Paris : the Confluence Institute for Innovation and Creative Strategies in Architecture, accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

In 2018, Odile Decq has opened a traveling exhibition about the Studio’s work (“Horizons”) at the House of Art in Ostrava (Czech Republic) and has been invited to create two exhibitions (“Phantom’s Phantom”, “Time-Space-Existence”) during the 16th annual Biennale of Architecture in Venice. Amongst other projects, she is currently working on a luxury residential tower in Barcelona; a high-end office building in Paris; and a set of 5 experimental houses in China. Her most recent completed projects include Study Hall (Lyon, France, 2017); Le Cargo (Paris, France, 2016); La Résidence Saint-Ange (Seyssins, France, 2015); Fangshan Tangshan National Geopark Museum (Nanjing, China, 2015); GL Events Headquarters (Lyon, France, 2014); FRAC Bretagne (Rennes, France, 2012); Phantom: Opéra Garnier Restaurant (Paris, France, 2011) and the MACRO Contemporary Art Museum (Rome, Italy, 2010).
© 2026. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Odile Decq or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only 


Ms. Odile Decq
Saint-Gobain Research Center, 1999
Greenland Pavilion, 2006
100 Flames For Reading, Installation, 2007
Wrocław Museum of Contemporary Art, 2008
Phantom Restauran, 2011
Phantom Restauran, 2011
Phantom Restauran, 2011
3D X1 b, 2012
Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain de Bretagne, 2012
2014 
2014
Fangshan Tangshan National Geopark Museum, 2015 
Maisons de Verre à Carantec, 2015
Saint-Ange Residence, 2015
New Cyprus Museum, 2017
Phantom's Phantom, 2019
Immeuble Twist, Paris, 2019
Kiev Babin Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, 2019
Antares Barcelona, 2022
The Green Pavilion, 2022
La Sentinelle, 2023
Whirlpool Synesthetic Swirl, 2023
Banque Populaire de l'Ouest (BPO) Boardroom / Reception Desk, 1990
Icaro, UNESCO Headquarters Furniture, 1998
Javelot Macro Outdoor Floor Lamp, 2010
2012
Twist Again Fruit Bowl, 2014
Soleil Noir, 2015
Kinetic Light Sculptures, 2019
Marée noire Porcelain vase, 2019