Paul Richard Thomas - It’s a Real Honor and a Pleasure to Be Among the Internationally Acclaimed Artists Represented by Carnevale Gallery (Beauty and Fashion Photographer From France)

In the process of creation, it happens that you have a clear idea of a subject, a personal and original point of view on some topic, and then you want to communicate this vision through your art. Most of the time for me, the ideas and the total concept are slowly appearing through the images that are coming through my imagination and are strangely building a story that reveals to me the direction where to pursue the series of photographs.

1. Tell us about your current exhibition in Carnevale Gallery, Las Vegas.

It's a real honor and a pleasure to be among the internationally acclaimed artists represented by Carnevale Gallery.

For the selection of the images that are displayed at Carnevale Gallery, I came up first with some options from which Tony Carnevale has very judiciously made some choices that I immediately approved, picking some photographs from my current exhibition previously shown in Paris and in New York, and mixing them with some particular photographs from my portfolio, creating a new limited edition series that tells us a graphic and allegorical story.

2. How significant, do you think, will this exhibition prove in your career as your works are now displayed in the heart of Caesar Palace?

As Las Vegas is the Mondial capital of entertainment, what better place to showcase your work as an artist!!! Photography is a medium, such as drawing, painting, sculpture, or music, that is there, to help you to express yourself, to communicate your dreams, and your fears, to exchange and touch people, people from all countries, all cultures, all social castes, and all sensibility.

To its large and eclectic public, Caesar Palace, with its Italian artistic vibe, is known to exhibit inside its numerous galleries, the work of prestigious talents from all over the world. Carnevale Gallery has a special place in the heart of the giant Palace, and to be able to share my perceptions through my photography at this amazing location is one step more in my career as an art photographer.



3. Tell us about your experience directing the Music Video "Yes, A Day Has To Come" and working with top artists.

I already have worked several times with Trembling Waters, and each time I directed a music video for one of their songs, it was a very unique and strong experience. Their universe brings us back to the seventies/eighties through their soulful compositions, and each of their songs offer new colors in terms of voice, harmonies, rhythm, and production, new doors opened for the imagination.

"Yes, A Day Has To Come" inspired me to speak about the bond between the artist and the muse, the bond between two lovers, and also inspired me to speak about the addictive relationship, that can often result from any kind of passion, addictive sometimes to the extreme point of no return.

This music video stars the incredibly gifted musicians that were invited to play on this song in Woodcliff Studio in Los Angeles: Gregg Bissonette, Ringo Starr's drummer, and his brother, Matt Bissonette, Elton John's Bass player. It was so inspiring to capture their photogenic, their energy, and their talent and to merge those images with the other part of the footage that was previously shot in New York/Long Island at an incredible location: The Metropolitan building.

 

4. What ideas/messages do you intend to convey through your work?

In the process of creation, it happens that you have a clear idea of a subject, a personal and original point of view on some topic, and then you want to communicate this vision through your art. Most of the time for me, the ideas and the total concept are slowly appearing through the images that are coming through my imagination and are strangely building a story that reveals to me the direction where to pursue the series of photographs. I am the witness, the passer of visions and emotions that are far beyond my conscience but certainly force their way through my lens to express universal values.  

5.  What kind of impact do you hope to make with your contribution to the industry?

I really have no projection of myself as a creative mentor or an iconic artist that has the will to leave a legacy. It is not, I think, a lack of ambition, it is just that I believe that any kind of art is the expression of a civilization, a culture, a period of time and it certainly cannot be resumed to the presumed talent of a single person.

6.  Do you use references when you’re working on a project, or do you try to come up with unique ideas each time?

As my process of creation is closer to "automatic writing", I do not really wish for a particular result, mainly at the beginning of building a personal work. For that reason, I do not willingly start with any reference. Of course, through my career as a fashion photographer, the clients are brands, and they get a specific product that they want to advertise, but then again, knowing my image, they hire me not only for my touch in terms of light and frame but for the unexpected images that are coming to my mind; I am very fortunate to barely always get a white page and to shot each time photographs with a new concept.

7.  What photographers from the past or present have influenced you the most?

From a young age, I was very attentive, impressed, and aware of the particular aesthetic that some great directors apply, as their own signature, to their movies. Therefore my influence in terms of the image is essentially coming from the cinema rather than photography.

Kenji Mizoguchi, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Sergio Leone, Michael Cimino, and Stanley Kubrick to name a few, were imposing their strong identity through their films, each of those directors has a very unique visual signature and it is for me a patchwork of inspiration that has made me develop, first through storyboards, then through shootings, my personal style.

8.  What are your future plans as a photographer and a director? Are there any upcoming projects that you are particularly excited about?

I am working on the new sequel to the exhibition/event that took place for the first time in Bryant Park, Manhattan. Work in progress, more photographs, stronger and iconoclasts visuals, will be displayed on this occasion.

The upcoming new music video. Always a pleasure!!!

A huge‐sized table book, in a limited edition, is also on my agenda...

BIO - 

Paul Richard Thomas is a photographer and artist known for his cutting-edge work in fashion and beauty. A worldwide traveler, Paul's broad influence spans Europe, Thailand, America, and Egypt, where he picked up his first camera in his youth. Setting his focus on fashion photography, His exceptional skill has attracted exclusive clientele giving him the opportunity to work with top models from major international agencies, prestigious brands, and household names. 

Creative storyboards, unconventional posing, and final cropping effects are hallmarks of Thomas’ amazing conceptual imagery. Thomas’ originality is highlighted by his stylistic cover shots and creative graphic style, using international models and French actresses such as Béatrice Dalle, Laura Smet, Helena Noguerra, and Adriana Karembeu, Laura Paketova, Marie Gillain, Olga Kurylenko, Susanne Bartsch and more. 

His editorial work with elite fashion and beauty companies, utilizing his own proprietary methods in pearly light imaging, resulted in a demand for his specialized services to elevate the beauty of top models such as Anja Rubik, Irina Pantaeva, Olga Pantushenkova, Tanja, Ruta Palionyte, Talitha Pugliesi, Angelica Boss, Zdenka Barkalova, Gabriela Gubert and Fatima Siad. 

Through advertising and editorials, Paul Richard Thomas had the opportunity to associate his signature style with Fashion brands such as Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Tag Heuer, Givenchy, and Hermes among others. 

Thomas was commissioned by the Chanel Group to create the portraits of Mr. François Lesage, Isabel Marant, Anne Valérie Hash, Jérôme Dreyfus, Eymeric François, and Franck Sorbier. He directed television commercials and music videos including '"Steps in the Dark", ''It's Raining Tonight", "Right Your Role and It's Rock and Roll", Tears of Angels" and "Yes A Day Has To Come".

Thomas’ ingenious artistry has been featured in a variety of settings over the years, including the photography book bearing his name. His latest exhibition offers an introspective view and a far-reaching public statement regarding society's perceptions, incorporating his sharp edge of surrealism while inciting social commentary on the attainment of beauty and individuality.

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Interviewed By - Nimisha Dutta