Jean-Michel Folon was born in Brussels on 1 March 1934 and grew up in Belgium. At the age of 20, he began a course in industrial design at the La Cambre School of Art and then, in 1955, moved to Bougival, on the outskirts of Paris, where he lived for a number of years in a gardener’s lodge. The French press was slow to recognise his talents, but the big American magazines, including Horizon, Esquire, The New Yorker, Fortune and Time, gave him the opportunity to create front covers and many stunning prints. This was his first step on the road to success. Soon, galleries and museums the world over were welcoming him with open arms – New York, Chicago, Milan, Venice, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Tokyo, etc. Drawings, paintings, sculptures… his art expanded in many directions. He illustrated works by leading writers such as Kafka, H. G. Wells, Prévert, Vian, Borges and Bradbury. He created monumental murals, stained glass, tapestries, theatre and opera sets, and sculptures. An expert in the art of communication, he designed more than 500 posters.
In 1972, Michel Polac gave Folon an acting role in his film La Chute d’un corps. Folon went on to act in a number of films alongside Rufus, Michel Piccoli, Patrick Dewaere, Marthe Keller, Miou-Miou and Marlène Jobert.
In 2000, he opened the Fondation Folon in the Solvay Estate in La Hulpe. Visitors can now view most of his work in a place and setting that held such happy childhood memories for him.
He died on 20 October 2005, at the age of 71.
