Marjane Satrapi, 'Peintures'

The author of ‘Persepolis’ has
 taken great strides from her origins in independent comics – now Marjane Satrapi can be found on the sliver screen and the small (including a TV ad in France for Bon Marché). After a brief appearance at the Cinéma du Réel documentary film festival in Beaubourg, Paris in 2002, Satrapi has been welcomed onto the contemporary art market with open arms. One of the most prestigious galleries in Paris, Jérôme de Noirmont (which also represents Jeff Koons, Pierre & Gilles and Valérie Belin) is devoting its first exhibition of a painter to the Iranian artist, who will be showing a series of decorative canvases in the graphic style of her books. Pretty portraits of women in bright colours, they show once again the adaptability of Satrapi’s style – though at the risk of losing the bite and sincerity of her earlier works. Sadly, the name Satrapi seems to be devolving into a brand.