Joël Person (b. 1962, Abidjan) is a French painter and draughtsman who lives and works in Paris. A graduate of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, he is known for the remarkable precision and intensity of his drawings. His practice encompasses portraiture, the human figure and animals, combining a near-classical mastery of line with a constant search for movement and life. His work is held in collections including the Musée Jenisch in Vevey and the Émile Hermès Collection.

The horse has been at the heart of Person’s work for more than twenty years. A fascination rooted in childhood, it offers him an ideal subject through which to explore anatomy, movement and raw physical energy. Working primarily in charcoal and black stone, Person observes every muscle and tension with great precision, while searching for the moment when the drawing seems to escape its own control. His horses are never static studies: whether galloping, rearing or reduced to the close-up of a head, they retain the nervous energy and powerful presence of a living animal.