• Bertrand Meniel (French, b. 1961). Breakfast at the Fairmont, 2009, acrylic on linen, 38 ½ x 71 ¼ in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York, Gift of Louis K. and Susan P. Meisel, 2018.16.2.

    Beyond Reality
    Paintings and Drawings by Bertrand Meniel

    October 13, 2024–April 6, 2025

  • Bertrand Meniel (French, b. 1961). Washington Street, San Francisco, 2011, graphite on paper, 22 ¼ x 22 ¼ in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York, Gift of Louis K. and Susan P. Meisel.

  • Bertrand Meniel (French, b. 1961). Snapple, 2016, acrylic on linen, 36 x 53 ¼ in. Louis K. Meisel Gallery | Elizabeth K. Harris. Courtesy of Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York.

Beyond Reality: Paintings and Drawings by Bertrand Meniel is a survey of paintings and drawings by the French photorealist who has been creating paintings of unprecedented detail since 1996. Using a variety of photographs of his chosen subject and advanced digital technologies, Bertrand Meniel (French, b. 1961) manipulates each image to perfection, focusing simultaneously on the foreground and background by combing hundreds of shots on a computer screen before painting them onto canvas.

Most of Meniel’s paintings feature panoramic views much wider than what the human eye can perceive, whether they are recorded from a street-level position or from above.

Meniel has said he looks for “that magic moment”: “a combination of good light, architectural interest, a perspective that gives depth, and bit of luck.”

Beyond Reality: Paintings and Drawings by Bertrand Meniel is curated by Klaus Ottmann, Robert Lehman Curator with additional support from Kaitlin Halloran, Assistant Curator and Publications Coordinator.

Exhibition Support
The Museum’s programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and by the property taxpayers from the Southampton School District and the Tuckahoe Common School District.