The Voluptuous Grays of Pascal Loubet (Photos)

Besides being a photographer, Pascal Loubet was cofounder of ACT UP-Paris in 1989. Loubet can be credited with the strict graphic designs associated with the group. A collaborator in numerous cultural journals, he cofounded in 1995 the magazine Tetu, where he was editor-in-chief until 1997. He published five novels between 1992 and 2002.

His photographs and his hypnotic videos cultivate the obsessive theme of unreal male beauty. His "Poolside" series, conducted between 2007 and 2016, was followed in 2017 by "Summer of Brothers."

Pascal tells us, "I was born in Le Havre (Normandy Coast). [Currently] I am living and working in Paris -- or anywhere where there are swimming pools, sun and beaches, and interesting houses.

"I started when I was a teenager -- my father and uncle had a home [darkroom] and taught me the ropes. I stopped when I started the University and went back to it on and off for years until I really got back to it in 1998 when digital cameras started being less rudimentary. What sparked my interest earlier on was probably some fascination with men's bodies, although I tend more now to try to reproduce images that I remember from my youth/childhood (even though it may not be so obvious.)

"Inspiration comes unexpectedly more from painters and architects (Hopper, Bauhaus school, Le Corbusier or Mies van der Rohe); movies (Japanese filmmaker Ozu, Suddenly Last Summer, Douglas Sirk, the neorealistic Italian cinema of the '60s with early Pasolini and Rossellini) more than photographers -- even though I love Ralph Gibson, Bruce Weber, Herbert List, and Alair Gomes, or even Leni Riefenstahl, to name a few.

"As for aesthetics, I have what could be called a phobia of clutter and I tend to strip the image of everything that means nothing or could look dodgy -- even though I am not always successful at this. Hence a pronounced inclination for straight lines, geometry, very plain surfaces, and -- as very aptly phrased by a French theater writer who died recently: 'the incandescent glow of grays.'"

Loubet was represented by the Esther Woerdehoff gallery until 2014. Since 2017, his photos (prints and books) have been exclusively available on the Big Cartel website, which sells among others the series of "Poolside," "Summer Brothers," and "Room Books." The "Summer 2.0" project can be purchased here.

Follow Pascal on Instagram for more beautiful grays.