André LAAME c/o SEPIA won the Elysée Award in the category Painting in 2009 and has since illustrated for renowned publishing companies such as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung or Swiss Du magazine. Die Zeit published his illustrative commentary in 2015 about the attack on Charlie Hebdo. André's topics are about people, relationships and portraits. He uses painting, illustration and digital tools, usually working with a reduced palette of colors. The portrait of Stephen King is his newest work and was created for 'Billy Summers' – the big new novel about truth and fiction by the successful author.
“In my work, I look for images which are able to describe moods and evoke emotions. The style of which is a very important means of expression. I am, therefore, not limited to only one particular style of illustrating, but instead, the topic leads me in the right direction for my research and experimentation until I have found the best interpretation. I often use close-up views with a small range of selected colors. As a painting, a drawing or a 3D graphic. I am particularly interested in social and cultural topics,” says André Laame.
André Laame studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg under Prof. Hartmut Gudenau. Two years later, he deepened his knowledge of painting by attending a Master's degree course under Prof. Christian Hahn. He is a founding member of SEPIA, the agency for illustration.