Born March 3, 1976 in Die – France

Painter, Videographer, Director

Thomas moved from city to city during his childhood and teenage years because of his father’s job. After a school experience he describes as chaotic, he began studying history, a subject he has never really abandoned. There followed years of training in academic drawing, cartooning, illustration and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in St-Etienne. At the same time, he took evening classes in drama at the Comédie de St-Étienne, and began various collaborations with actors and directors.

He was involved in the first two seasons of the Backstage program at the Comédie de St-Etienne, as a visual artist and receptionist. As such, he met the directors he collaborated with and became aware of the notions of accuracy and honesty: Cédric Veschambre (Cie Le Souffleur de verre ), Éric Massé (Cie des Lumas), Béatrice Bompas (Cie commune), Patrick Reynard (L’Eskabo Théâtre), and others.

He refused taking his fine arts degree and learnt the piano with Julien Blondel, and the engraving with Japanese Shichio Minato – who passed on his love of paper, embossing, and the need to be strict in every step of the work.

Since then, Thomas Collet has experienced video narration, and collective work through electro-acoustic music and bass guitar. He has broadened the scope of his media by approaching photography, staging, performance and theatrical performance. He has collaborated with photographer Jean Antoine Raveyre, music bands (Roulotte Tango, Arta Balarta, Quatuor Hermes…), the writer and director Stéphane Raveyre, electroacoustic musicians (Christian Malfray, Nicolas Dick…), and recently with the Dyptik company, as a scenographer.

He has never quit painting, whose approach has influenced his practice of every other art forms. And every other art form he has approached has nourished his way of painting.

He has taught perspective to space designers, and computer graphics to visual communication students. He has worked on personal (The one-eyed kings, Ran …) and collective productions. He staged performance Center 3, shown at L’Horme Cultural Center. He has also led projects with social centers, children, the Conservatoire in Saint-Étienne and various schools, as well as volunteering with the Judo Club Domarin, where he practices Ju-Jitsu.