ART-024 Gilles Rieu — "Absinthe Refined" Original Mixed-Media Painting on Canvas Board, Michel Roux Provenance

A bold and evocative original mixed-media painting by contemporary French artist Gilles Rieu (b. 1953, Saint-Céré, France) — a self-taught painter whose work has been exhibited internationally across France, the United States, Quebec, Vietnam, and Japan.

Titled Absinthe Refined, this dynamic abstract-figurative composition layers expressive bottle imagery and social drinking scenes in charged black and yellow, evoking the mythologized culture of Parisian café life and the "green fairy" that inspired generations of artists from Manet and Toulouse-Lautrec to van Gogh. The gestural brushwork, ink splashes, and textural layering give the work a raw, kinetic energy entirely consistent with Rieu's memory-driven artistic practice.

Provenance

This work comes directly from the personal collection of Michel Roux (1940–2019) — one of the most influential figures in the American spirits industry and a legendary art patron. As President and CEO of Carillon Importers, Roux transformed Absolut Vodka from an unknown brand into a global icon by commissioning works from Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and over 300 artists — pioneering the fusion of contemporary art and consumer culture. Roux was a lifelong and passionate art collector. The thematic resonance between a French artist's meditation on absinthe culture and Roux's life's work in spirits makes this a uniquely meaningful piece.

Details

• Artist: Gilles Rieu (French, b. 1953)
• Title: Absinthe Refined
• Medium: Original mixed-media on canvas board
• Dimensions: 42" × 32" × 1.5" (framed)
• Sight Size: Approx. 39.5" × 29.5"
• Frame: Ornate wood frame
• Signed: Lower right; possibly dated 2002
• Condition: Good overall. Mild surface wear; staining throughout as intended by the artist. Frame shows mild storage wear to edges and corners.
• Provenance: Collection of Michel Roux (1940–2019), Absolut Vodka's visionary marketer