‘Loading’ – exhibition at Palais Immersif

Post published:January 25, 2024

Visible until July at the GPI ( Grand Palais Immersif ) in the gill of the sperm whale of the Bastille, the exhibition or rather the prodigal of Jonas (Christian Omodeo) is not to be missed under any pretext. In a space that one imagines to be that of the storage of the sets of the Opera, consists a symphony of surfaces, movements and sounds. The show is to be judged as one of these «new media» of the 90s, as one of these «new images» of the 80s. Loading is also part of a new experience of cinema as were those of the Gaumont Palace of the place of Clichy, which, between 1913 and 1923, dazzled the city, redefined the cinematograph. Paris is not absent from the screen despite the tribute to New York in 1978-1982. See ECILOP projected to scale in the den of a building symbolizing the bicentennial of the French Revolution: do we need more to make the chronicle? A world of drones with icons. The 1UP painting the pyramids of Naples. And Cairo, devastated by EL SEED. Seen from Paris, Miami appears somewhere between Marseille and Aubervilliers. And Brazil? 30 minutes of travel assured. Because our cities are now interconnected media in the Great Game of Invader. Urban art responds to the practice of hacking. Space produces advertising that defines the space that art has diverted since the Situationist years. Everywhere, tags, graffiti but also screens. Times Square appears Montparnasse when Keith Harring’s baby crawls into the screen of bulbs guarded by Maxwell and Levi’s. Would our cities be shows disturbed by the performance of a handful of anarchists? The figure of Sheperd Fairey, who went from subversion to official art in 30 years, provides an ironically political answer. As in Garnier and as in the Grand Palais, you will have to know how to wander through these urban images, join Kashink at the Balcon, linger on history, archaeology.

The film lasts 30 minutes.

Duration of the visit: 90 minutes minimum.

–

text by Thom Thom

pictures by Christian Omodeo

When Street Art gets involved !

Post published:April 10, 2023

Since mid-January, the streets of Paris have become the scene of fervent protests following the bill extending the legal retirement age from 62 to 64.

Gladpow, (Collage d’après : Jean-François Millet, Des Glaneuses, huile sur toile, 1857), mars 2013, Rue Amelot © @gladpow

In addition to the two-year increase in the legal retirement age, the controversy over the pension reform stems from the utilisation of Article 49.3 by the prime minister. 49.3 is an article of the French law which only the prime minister can use to pass a law, thus depriving the deputies of the national assembly of their voting power.

Unknown artist, 49.3 Raisons d’être en colère, Paris XIIIe, mars 2023 © Marie le Palec ; Mifamosa, 49.3, mosaïques, Limoges, 2023 © @mifamosa

This reform provoked numerous protests that are expressed through strikes and demonstrations. Under the impetus of the trade unions organisations, systematic strikes have taken place in various sectors such as public transportation and hygiene and environmental professionals.

Bienplacé, « Poubelles la vie », march 2023, Paris © @_75flowers ; Unknown artist, « Collecte des Capitalistes », Paris XIIIe, 2023 © Marie le Palec

These strikes have profoundly impacted France and its capital. For several weeks, Parisians stumbled over the garbage piling up in the streets.

Artist Bisk.art has also produced a series of works that use the mountains of trash cans abandoned by garbage men to transform them into monsters as terrible as ridiculous thanks to the addition of eyes and mouths.

Marcel Delaville, Monsters, Paris, 2023, © @bisk.art

From the French Revolution to the Yellow Vests movement and the Commune, the streets of Paris are the favorite place for popular revolutions and social mobilisations. That is why protesters from all over France arrived in Paris to make their voices heard. This resulted in violent clashes between them and the police.

Unknown artist, Stencil « Lache une caiss, Gaze un CRS », Paris XIIIe, © Marie le Palec

To support this social movement against pension reform, artists mobilized. Artist Nô, responsible for creating a sale for the benefit of the strike fund, create the banner «No Pasaran!» for a demonstration in the city of Cahors.

Nô, « No Pasaran! », Cahors, march 2023 © @no.street.art

But also the mural «No Justice, No Peace» painted by the collective of committed artists Black Lines.

Itvan Kebadian, Bricedu Dub, « No Justice, No Peace », Paris XIXe, march 2023 © @blacklinebl

Urban artists are witnesses to the protesters’ demands, they use the walls and the streets as an exhibition space to express themselves.

Between two mural projects and under the supervision of the talented Thom Thom, the wall of 84 rue Amelot displays in all letters a French hashtag as a support from the artists to the strikers #soutiendesartistesauxgrevites.

Thom Thom, #soutiendesartistesauxgrevistes, 84 rue Amelot, Paris XIe, march 2023 © @84amelot ; @thom_thom_2000

Artist MsBeja, who is not insensitive to puns, placards posters with a closed fist to highlight that the fight isn’t over yet !

Ms Beja, Stencils, Paris, 2023 © @msbeja_art ; @no.street.art

The French capital has been on fire since the beginning of 2023. Urban artists without much hesitation have stepped up to support the strikers.

Editor : Marie le Palec

Women artists in Urban Art

Post published:March 15, 2023

A few days ago we celebrated the International Women’s Day for Equal Rights. A good opportunity to address the situation of female artists in urban art.

1. The question of gender in art

New York 1985 : a group of female artists founded the Guerrilla Girls collective to denounce racial and gender discrimination in the art world by putting illegal posters in the streets.

Guerilla Girls, Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum ?, Screenprint on paper , 28 x 71

This now famous 1989 poster points to the ambivalence of gender representation in the art world. Taking up La Grande Odalisque (1814) by painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, wearing the mask the collective wear during their actions, the Guerrilla Girls ask the following question: “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?” The answer shows a sad record since “Less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female”.

By using the street as a place to exhibit their work, women artists seize the opportunity that urban art represents : reach the public without going through mediation organizations. It is a strategy that avoids the obstacles related to the inequality of representation between men and women in galleries.

The stencil artist Miss.Tic, a feminist pioneer of French urban art who has been spreading her poetic works in the streets of Paris since 1985, is today an icon of the movement. The works of Miss.Tic that we come across during our urban wanderings are today the vestiges of a prolific practice. A heritage we must preserve since the artist died in May 2022.

Miss.Tic, De mes Frasques je fais des Fresques, Rue Véron Paris XVIIIe

2. Is urban art a gendered environment ?

As an organized and codified movement, urban art offers a certain equality in the face of gender representation since it is common to use a pseudonym, otherwise known as a blaze. When degendered, the blaze masks the gender of the individual behind the street artist. However, some artists assume the gender they identify with like the “ladies” such as the graffiti artist Lady.k, the stencil artist Lady Bug or Demoiselle MM.

Lady.k, 2021, IG : @lady.k_156 © @hermundherd

Lady Bug, Rue Alphand Paris XIIIe, september 2022 © IG : @ladybugnantes

In 2012 the term «Mademoiselle» was removed from the official forms. Until then it has been used to refer to a young single woman. Once married, she will be called «Madam». Therefore, women’ status depends on the man responsible for them, either the father or the husband. The artist Demoiselle MM reclaims this controversial title to redefine the narrative of which each of the «Demoiselle» tells her own story.

Demoiselle MM, Spot 13, Paris XIIIe, IG : @demoisellemm © Marie le Palec, october 2022

3. The issue of women’s bodies in the streets

If female nudity is over-represented in the closed spaces of museums and galleries, its presence is displaced in the public space. This is why many urban women artists today create works that aim to reclaim their bodies.

Intra Larue is a French artist who features solitary breasts set with geometric or vegetal patterns in the streets. If we know the breasts to work in pairs, those of Intra Larue are unique and isolated. The passer-by must therefore approach the work to fully grasp what he or she is looking at, which instantly provokes an intimate relationship with the object. Even more so if the viewer learns that these plaster bas-reliefs were molded on the artist’s chest…

Intra Larue, Lisbon/Paris © IG : #intralarue @sanouki ; @le_bonbon

MarL Clito‘s collages take up the masterpieces of art history through the prism of the organ dedicated to female pleasure: the clitoris. Perhaps this is the proposal for a re-reading of art history in relation to gender issues. The artist invites us to take a feminist look at works produced for the male gaze.

MarL Clito, 8 mars 2020, Paris © IG : @marsl_streetart

Wild Wonder Woman creates small collages representing naked women who advocate the diversity of bodies, whether they are thin, opulent, hairy, smooth, etc.

Wild Wonder Woman, Paris © IG : @wild_wonder_woman

For those who advocate for a more fluid conception of gender, artist Kashink produces brightly coloured murals that depict an inclusive variation of what one might understand by «masculine» and «feminine» by questioning the codes associated with gender.

Kashink, collaborative mural, Rue Vandrezanne Paris XIIIe, © Stéphanie LOMBARD, Simon HOAREAU, Guide du street art à Paris, Alternatives (coll. Arts urbains), 2018, p.33

Editor :

Marie le Palec

Liste des artistes :

Guerrilla Girls
Miss.Tic
Intra Larue
MarsL Clito
Wild Wonder Woman
Kashink
Lady K
Lady Bug
Demoiselle MM

Bibliography :

– BRUNEL-LAFARGUE Karen, L’art se rue, H’Artpon, 2016.

– LOMBARD Stéphanie, HOAREAU Simon, Guide du street art à Paris, Alternatives (coll. Arts urbains), 2018.

– MULLINS Charlotte, A Little Feminist History of Art, Tate Publishing, London, 2019.

– TAPIES Xavier, Le street art au féminin, Paris, Graffito Books, 2017.

Love is in the streets !

Post published:February 13, 2023

As Valentine’s Day approaches, Street Art Tour Paris’ team has been sifting through its photo archives and scouring the profiles of Street Art’s best hunters to offer you a selection of works made in the streets of Paris on the theme of love.

Artist : Clément Hermann, Belleville, XXe arrondissement © IG : Clement.Herrmann

With this mixed technique, Clément Herrmann gives us his interpretation of the famous sculpture Psyché revived by the kiss of Love created by the neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova.

Artists : collectif Le MOUVEMENT, Paris © IG: lecahierdelola

Have you ever come across these couples sheltered by an umbrella? It is the project of the artists collective Le MOUVEMENT which takes pictures of passers-by in the streets of Paris, places them under an umbrella and then produces these magnificent collages. Who knows, maybe you could also become a work of street art?!

Artist : 13bis, XXe arrondissement © IG: uranie94

With the artist 13bis, if the couple does not respect the social distancing imposed during the Covid-19 epidemic, the lovers kiss while still keeping their masks! A promise to always keep your head in the stars.

Artists : Tito and Mulk, Le Marais, IVe arrondissement © IG : bobroy20

In Le Marais, you can admire the mural with the pink background of Tito and Mulk who offer us a sensual kiss between two women. Artists advocate pride, the singularity of each person and the freedom to love whoever one wishes with the phrase «Love is not a crime».

But what do we see below the woman’s ear on the left? The heart representing a kissing couple is a reference to the work of the artist HeartCraft!

Artists : LetteringCreatif & HeartCraft, 2-8 rue Androuet XVIIIe arrondissement © Marie le Palec

The collaborative fresco of LetteringCreatif and HeartCraft, whose kiss in the heart held by the woman, quotes the young poet Amanda Gorman: There is always light. If only we are brave enough to see it, if only we are brave enough to be.”

Artists : Tegmo & HeartCraft, Paris © IG: choukita34

If you live in or have ever visited Paris, you have undoubtedly already come across the romantic stencils “I love you everywhere” by Tegmo and “Love in power” by HeartCraft. And it’s not ©choukita34‘s little dog who will tell us otherwise.

Artist : Jouliet Hearts, Cité de la Mairie, XVIIIe arrondissement ©Marie le Palec

Montmartre is undoubtedly one of the most romantic neighborhoods of the French capital. If you stroll around the area with your other half, don’t forget to go to Cité de la Mairie, not far from the Place des Abbesses and the I Love You Wall to enjoy Jouliet Hearts’ mural.

Artist : ITSALIVING, XIIIe arrondissement © IG: 3m__street

Let’s finish with the colorful words “To live And love” by artist ITSALIVING which stand out on a blue background like neon lighting that evokes the 90s. An invitation to return to essential activities.

On this urban poetry, whether you are alone or accompanied, the Street Art Tour Paris’ team wishes happy Valentine’s Day to all.

Three exhibitions to see in Paris this January !

Post published:December 22, 2022

It is finally this time of the year : soups, warm sweaters and other snow socks ! The first snow fell and the month of December is well under way. The moment to present to you our three favorite exhibitions to visit in Paris this January. And if Street Art Tour Paris puts urban art in the spotlight, we will not forget about the contemporary art’s lovers !

#1 : « CAPITALE(S) : 60 ans d’art urbain » at the Hôtel de Ville de Paris

Let’s start with the fabulous exhibition CAPITALE(S) : 60 ans d’art urbain at the Hôtel de Ville, curated by Magda Danysz, Elise Herszkowicz, Nicolas Laugero Lasserre and Marko93. The exhibition presents a relevant approach to the history of urban art in Paris since the 1960s.

Painting on canvas, Gérard Zlotykamien

An assumed bias that integrates into the history of the movement the pioneers of stencil Edmond Marie Rouffet and Blek le Rat, collage Ernest Pignon Ernest, cutting of advertising posters Jacques Villeglé, as well as painters Jérôme Mesnager and Gérard Zlotykamien. We then go through the arrival of New York graffiti-writing in Paris in the 1980s to arrive at the multidisciplinary urban artorks that we encounter today.

Tools and signs collected by writers, private collections.

The setting of the exhibition, the Hôtel de Ville de Paris, is an interesting choice when we know that the recognition of urban art by the official institutions is still a controversial issue.

Murals by artists Kashink, Vision and Greky

This exhibition reminds us that this movement appeared about sixty years ago, and that its pioneers are beginning to disappear, like Miss Tic and Jacques Villeglé who both passed away this year.

Mixed Technique, Miss Tic

On your way out, don’t forget to buy the catalogue of the exhibition directed by Magda Danysz, whose texts are fascinating and highly instructive. It will definitely have its effect under the Christmas tree!

#2 : Urbain de Paname, former Saint-Ouen skating rink

Toys Army by Jean-Samuel Halifi, 2018

Working since 2017 to encourage the link between art and research, the artists Salomé Partouche and Jean-Samuel Halifi are the founders of the project Urbain de Paname. Their works are featured in the exhibition which is filling the old rectangular ice rink of Saint-Ouen.

Artworks by Léo Nataf

The selection of artists ranges from the emerging scene to established and recognized artists with artworks by Banksy, Invader and Rero.

The exhibition offers a fine sample of urban and contemporary practices combining paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, engravings and even tufting, an old textile manufacturing technique brought up to date by contemporary art, a practice that is increasingly widespread.

Artworks by artist Maxime Mouroux

The installation H2O by Tom Lellouche with its dystopia scene brings a touch of contemporary art into the exhibition

The highlight of the exhibition is the DJ Sets from 6 to 10 p.m during the weekend. Music, waffles and mulled wine stand straight from the ski slopes, make the exhibition very dynamic and fun !

This is why we were surprised not to have met more visitors on a Friday night… However, the price of the exhibition and its geographical location on the outskirts of Paris are probably enough reasons to discourage the most cautious among us!

#3 : Foire Foraine d’Art Contemporain, 104

If you are looking for a fun and participatory approach to contemporary art, the Fair Foraine d’Art Contemporain at 104 is the exhibition you need to see! It includes a quality program bringing together some 40 international artists including Orlan, Invader, Adel Abdessemed, Yoann Bourgeois, Martin Creed, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Jean-Yves Aschard, Véronique Béland and many others.

Artworks Casino Las Datas by Sylvia Fredriksson, Albertine Meunier, Filipe Vilas-Boas (top) and Stellairoscope by Julien Salaud (bottom)

After collecting the token book – obtained upon presentation of the entrance ticket -, the visitor can participate in all the attractions of the park. The works on display reflect the codes of the funfair’s unmissable attractions such as the bumper cars, the ghost train – diverted into «Train-Fantasmes» -, the carousel, the ice gallery, slot machines, etc.

Bâtiment by artist Leandro Erlich, recreation from a 2014 artwork

The particularity of this exhibition is the proposal to move away from the shackles of the exacerbated conceptualisation of the work of art in contemporary art. Here, the focus is on the spectator’s participation. A refreshing experience that involves the visitor in the artistic action.

Editing & pictures by Marie le Palec

« CAPITALE(S) : 60 ans d’art urbain »

Salle Saint-Jean, Hôtel de Ville de Paris

5 rue de Lobau, 75004

Until 11 february 2023

Free entrance on reservation

Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. and to 9 p.m. on Thursdays

Present artists :

Villeglé, Zlotykamien, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Surface Active, Captain Fluo, Edmond Marie Rouffet, Blek le Rat, Miss.Tic, Vive La Peinture, Speedy Graphito, Jean Faucheur, Mesnager, Mosko, Jef Aérosol, Bando, Ash, Jay0ne, SKKI, Keith, Haring, Mambo, Nasty, Slice, Psyckoze, Lokiss, Shoe, Futura, A-One, Rammellzee, Jon0ne, André, Zevs, Dize, Invader, Shepard Fairey, JR, Vhils, Swoon, Banksy, C215, L’Atlas, YZ, Seth, Tarek Benaoum, El Seed, Ludo, Rero, Dran, O’Clock, Tanc, Lek, Sowat, Cristobal Diaz, Philippe Baudelocque, Levalet, Madame, Kashink, Vision, Pest, Greky, Sébastien Preschoux, Romain Froquet, Kraken, 9eme Concept, Les Francs Colleurs.

URBAIN DE PANAME

Former Saint-Ouen icering

2 rue du Dr Bauer, 93400

Until 18 fébruary 2023

From 6€ To 12€, on reservation only

DJ Sets from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Present artists :

Invader, Banksy, Salomé Partouche, Kaws, Jean Samuel Halifi, Laurent Perbos, Damien Moulierac, Alexander Daenesi, Marine Bonamy, XKUZ, Temponok, Lucas Price, Jojo le Petit Prince, Tanc 1979, Fenx 1974, Maxime Mouroux, Emile Orange, Nathanael Koffi, Kid-Pier, Nicolas Bianco, Victor Cord’homme, Martin Ferniot, Obey, L’Atlas, Pierre Brault

FOIRE FORAINE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN

Centquatre-Paris

5 rue Curial, 75018

Until 29 January 2023

From 8€ to 15€

From Wednesday to Sunday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Present artists :

Adel Abdessemed, Pilar Albarracín, Pierre Ardouvin, Jean-Yves Aschard, Véronique Béland, Serge Bloch, Lilian Bourgeat, Yoann Bourgeois, La Briche Foraine, Luis Buñuel, Compagnie 14:20, Manu Casquette, Pablo Cots, Martin Creed, Jo Dahan, Jacob Dahlgren, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Hervé Di Rosa, Encoreunestp, ENTER.black, Leandro Erlich, Sylvia Fredriksson, Loris Gréaud, Groland, Subodh Gupta, Invader, Julio Le Parc, Pierre de Mecquenem, Albertine Meunier, ORLAN, Alain Passard, Peybak, Delphine Reist, Julien Salaud, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Julien Vidame, Filipe Vilas-Boas, Winshluss, Virginie Yassef…

Happy 8th Birthday Street Art Tour Paris !

Post published:November 26, 2022

We are happy to announce that we are celebrating the 8th anniversary of Street Art Tour Paris ! Founded in 2014 by artist and guide-lecturer Kasia Klon, SATP offers guided tours in the historic neighborhoods of the French capital such as Montmartre, le Marais, Belleville and la Butte-aux-Cailles. The objective is to introduce the public to the richness of street art through its history, artists and the diversity of its techniques.

Kasia and Sigismond during a tour in Montmartre @ www.streetarttourparis.com

After completing her master’s degree, Kasia left her native Poland for Paris. Realizing that the art she observes in the French capital was much more contemporary than she imagined, she begins guided tours to share with the public a more dynamic facet of Paris than the unmissable Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.

Mr Byste doing a stencil at Aux Ours © Kasia Klon

Whether public or private, the tours are led by a small team of five guides and artists (Kasia, Siegfried, Mr Byste, Thom Thom and Marie) which sometimes allows the public to attend the creation of an artwork during the visit. The choice to form a team composed mainly of artists is entirely taken on by Kasia who thinks « that it is important for artists to exchange with the public to explain their works but also to see the reactions, get feedback and answer the questions. It can even influence and improve the work. I think I did something positive. I am grateful to see the public enjoying seeing the artists working during the tours. It is an exchange that everyone benefits from. I hope to continue to share these experiences and help artists survive and dream big. »

Thom Thom, London, 2022 © Artist’s Instagram @thom_thom_2000

Thom Thom is part of the long tradition of artists modifying and cutting advertising posters as well as French street art pioneer Jacques Villeglé. For him « The idea of theft or usurpation is very important. Giving and adding something to the street is nebulous while taking something from the street is a sign that there is “art”. Spending time on the street taking down the posters means investing them with a new value, while still wanting to keep them. »

Thom Thom & Chixcel, Le guide du Street Art à Paris, Alternatives, 2022 © Marie le Palec

One of the artist’s latest projects, carried out alongside Chrixcel, is the publication of the fourth edition of the Guide du Street Art in Paris which includes 8 routes and follows the previous publications of the blogger Wonder Brunette. For Thom Thom, « the challenge was to take up the paths set up by Wonder Brunette and more or less update them » because « It is interesting to understand how street art is both a cause and a consequence of a new way of thinking and exploring a big city like Paris. The Spot 13 (in the 13th arrondissement) is a good example. »

Mural made by Mr. Byste at Spot 13, September 2022 © Marie le Palec

Known for his black and white animals both dead and alive in reference to Schrödinger’s cat, (quantum physics’ thought experiment of superposition of states) Mr Byste is a stencil artist who began his artistic practice in 2017 by hiding leaflets containing coded messages in the catacombs of Paris.

Last September, Byste made a mural at Spot 13 on which we observe in a forest at night the decomposition of a cat’s jump in the manner of Muybridge. It was after the Black Cat exhibition in Montmartre that Byste began producing his static “Schrödinger cats” which can be seen in the upper right corner of the wall. For this mural, Byste wanted to « make Schrödinger’s cat more alive by depicting the cat race using 12 different stencils. The idea is to make people realize that the world is one big Schrödinger box and that all species are both potentially dead and alive. A hundred years from now, we will see who “won” and who “lost” among the remaining species on earth. »

Street Art Tour Paris’ team ; Kasia, Sigismond, Mr Byste, Thom Thom and Marie with artists Louyz and Ms Beja © Kasia Klon

To celebrate this anniversary, our dear guide Sigismond has gathered all the members of the SATP’s team at Aux Ours in Belleville. The opportunity for Mr Byste, Ms Beja, Louyz and Aimer to create works on the wall adjoining the restaurant.

Marie le Palec

From first to second market, the International Urban Art Fair District 13

Post published:October 7, 2022

International Urban Art Fair District 13, 4th edition, Hôtel Drouot, 15-18 September 2022
© District 13, Artwork by D*Face

The 4th edition of the District 13 Art Fair closed on September 18, 2022 with no less than thirty galleries representing the French and international contemporary urban scene. Regulars, neophytes and new collectors strolled through the various stands spread over three levels of the prestigious Hôtel Drouot.

Art’Murs, District 13 (15-18 September 2022)

District 13 is an initiative of Mehdi Ben Cheikh (founder of the Itinerrance gallery located in the 13th arrondissement) in the continuity of the open-air museum project the Paris 13 Tower. Its purpose is to bring together gallery owners passionate about urban art from all over the world. A successful bet since we count among them the great regulars galleries : ArtDown, Art-Together, Galería Bahía Utópica, Barrou Planquart, Corps et âme, GCA, Itinerrance, Ki, Lavo//Matik, Malagacha, Mazel, Never Mind, Rose Studio Art, Soon, Taglialatella, Urban Gallery, Vangart, Wallworks and Yosr Benammar, but also newcomers such as Akituga, Art Kind, Art’Murs, Art Show, Caillebotteri, Galerie Chenus Longhi, Galerie Deux6, Naga Collectivo, Street art photo Project and Stick Together.

Artwork by Insane 51, Corps et Âme Gallery, District 13 (15-18 September 2022)

The originality of the District 13 fair is also the venue that hosts it. In addition to being a space particularly appreciated by gallery owners for its exhibition qualities with its exceptional lighting conditions and its atypical management of works, it is in the famous Drouot auction Hôtel that the fair was held. This historic institution of the art market founded in 1852 counts an average of 700 sales each year, a tailor-made setting for this event which ended with an auction of some thirty lots on Saturday, September 17 at 3 pm.

Triumph paint by D*Face, District 13, Hôtel Drouot (15-18 September 2022)

Note that the presence of many artists during the fair was one of the strengths of the event. It is in the parking lot on the ground floor, welcomed by the strange couple of very official red velvet strings accompanied by the smell of spray cans, that the public could attend the realization of several murals during live paintings that took place during the 4 days of the fair. We could admire the frescoes of artists Alberto Ruce, Brusk, Captain’Co, Carole. B, Ceet Fouad, Chanoir, Cristoffaninni, Jean Jam, Kouka, Lady K, Lobsang Durney, Max Zorn, Mon Laferte, Motte, Primal Graphic, Rémi Bertoche, R.Nuage, SO. Z and Sun7.

Alberto Ruce’s mural, Hôtel Drouot, 15-18 September 2022

Alongside the traditional galleries, several original projects that combine crafts and fine art stood out such as the project «Roots» of the Akutigala gallery where the artists invested a natural medium, wood, as well as the transpositions of paintings into woven works with the Vangart embroidery house.

« Roots Project » Akutigala Gallery, District 13 (15-18 September 2022)

District 13 is also an opportunity to meet artists like Olivia Ferrand, represented by the Lyon-based gallery Art Show alongside Erell and Emenem, who explained to us the process of creating her delicate embroidered sculptures whose structure is made with crochet and embellished with beads.

Olivia Ferrand, Art Show Gallery, District 13 (15-18 September 2022)

Address :
Hôtel Drouot, 9 rue Drouot
75009, Paris France

More informations : http://district13artfair.com/.

Editor : Marie le Palec
Pictures : Kasia Klon and Marie le Palec

Fifth and last edition for the LaBel Valette Festival !

Post published:September 12, 2022

On Friday 26 and Saturday 27 of August, the fifth edition of the LaBel Valette Festival took place at the Château de Pressigny-les-Pins. A multidisciplinary festival dedicated to urban cultures. With the help of a hundred volunteers, this edition attracted more than 7,000 festival-goers. Divided in two stages, the concerts mixed hip-hop, electro and reggae music, where Fianso, Sniper, Tunisiano, Nuttea, Danitsa, Smokey Joe & The Kid, Dabeull performed. In addition to live paintings, many workshops were proposed : a stand to customize spray cans, an immersion into the previous editions murals thanks to augmented
reality, not to mention the Federation of Urban Arts, Urban Art Paris association and Belgian collective Propaganza stands. To brighten things up, Sisi la Paillette’s makeup artists have
put organic glitter on our faces and in our eyes !

When one thinks about the LaBel Valette Festival, it is first the artistic interventions on the castel which come to mind. Built in 1864 by Marie Joseph le Bouëdec, the castle of La Valette was occupied from 1893 by Viscount Albert Isle de Beauchaine and his wife. In previous editions, it was painted by Okuda (2018), 3TTMAN (2019), L’Atlas (2020), Astro (2021).

Former murals on the castle, Pressigny-les-Pins ; Okuda (2018), 3TTMAN (2019), L’Atlas (2020), Astro (2021) © FabeCollage

Each year the festival chooses a theme and for the fifth edition it is « Believe in your dreams ». A message of encouragement and hope for the last edition. This year, operating a change of scale with their proposal « Castles made of sand », it is for the artists Lek and Sowat to paint the castle. The French duo Lek (Frédéric Malek) and Sowat (Mathieu Kendrick), who have just produced a mural in homage to Jacques Villeglé (1926-2022) in the Tuileries tunnel in Paris, was formed in 2010 around their common passion urbex or the discovery of abandoned places.

Lek & Sowat, Castles Made Of Sand, Pressigny-les-Pins, 2022

For the five anniversary of the LaBel Valette Festival, the artists have recreated a beach with its sand and parasols, a last taste of holiday before the start of the school year.

Back when our dreams were sculpted in the sand, sheltered by castles washed away by the sea at the end of summer. On the castle we can read the names of the people who made this project possible, thanks to a delicate graffiti writing work, part of which is no more than a centimeter high.

« Castles Made Of Sand » des artistes Lek et Sowat pour le château du LaBel Valette Festival, Pressigny-les-Pins, 2022

But the castle is not the only one to host the murals of urban artists! In 1895, the Viscountess had a chapel built to receive the remains of herlate husband. After the interventions of the artists Matthieu Dagorn in 2018, Valérie Newland in 2021, ARDPG in 2019, Le Diamantaire in 2020, it is now the turn of Sylvain Ristori to invest the chapel of the domain with a two-tone architecture.

Sylvain Ristori, the chapel, Pressigny-les-Pins, 2022

From the 1930s to the 1990s, the castle was bought by the Spanish State and converted into a boarding school, which explains the presence of dormitories built in the 1970s. Since 2016, the abandoned domain of La Valette has experienced a renaissance under the impulse of the Urban Art Paris association and the creators of the LaBel Valette Festival, Mathieu and Sébastien.

Wuper, the former dorms, Pressigny-les-Pins, 2022

Sckaro, former stables, Pressigny-les-Pins, 2022

A shadow has however come to tarnish this festive weekend… It is the theft of the
photographers’ equipment and with it, professional shots of the last edition of the festival!

This is why the LBF team encourages you to share your pictures of the festival on the drive at the following address:

Text and photography : Marie le Palec

Street art takes over the Tuileries tunnel

Post published:August 23, 2022

The banks of the Seine are now a privileged place for urban art in Paris. After the Sens dessus dessous project during which several installations were suspended on five bridges overlooking the Seine, it was the turn of the Tuileries tunnel to host the murals of a dozen urban artists selected on the stage.

When the official murals…

The summer of 2022 delights our eyes thanks to the colourful interventions carried by the project L’art urbain en bord de Seine. Under the leadership of Artistik Rezo, Nicolas Laugero Lasserre and with the support of the City of Paris, this project proposes to enlarge the capital before hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games that will take place in Paris in 2024.

The 860-metre-long Tuileries tunnel, which once housed motorists, is now a delight for cyclists, scooter users and other pedestrians. Once dark and cold, it is now the place of a silent stroll, where passers-by take the time to admire the murals of 9 french artists including Brault, Erell, Hydrane, Madame, Romain Froquet and the duo Lek and Sowat, as well as the finnish Jussi TwoSeven and the italian Andrea Ravo Mattoni, made in homage to this specific site.

Romain Froquet

An operation that asked the artists a fortnight of preparation (from 11th to 24th july). But it is
a work in progress as the tunnel is not complete yet and still in a state of flux!

Hommage de Lek et Sowat à l’artiste Jacques Villeglé (1926-2022)

… rub shoulders with illegal interventions!

If urban art is mostly seen on the streets, it’s in one of the favorite places of historical graffiti writing ; a concretetunnel that the monumental murals of 40 meters long each, extend over. It is therefore not surprising that tags and other «illegal» interventions quickly joined them.

Djalouz’s Pigecam

The late additions to the project soon joined the commissioned works, as we can see with the abstract compositions of ReaOne, Jérôme G. Demuth, Psyckoze and Dizaster156 and also Kraken’s octopus, the collab’ of Djalouz, Caligr and One Pesca, the delicate characters of the russian artist Akelo, the animals of Louyz, Mathieu Dussaucy and Mr Byste, and many others…

Jérôme G. Demuth’s composition changes according to the spotlights’ variations

The tunnel’s murals should be visible at least until the end of 2023 summer.

Access to the tunnel is free and is done through the Pont Neuf, near to the Place de la Concorde 7/7 days
from 7 to 22 hours.

Text and pictures : Marie le Palec

Miss-Tic

Post published:May 26, 2022

Paris’ poetess of the walls whispers to their ears. The artist hijacks them to overthrow them and even bridges them. She is the stencil artist who makes them rustle with a breath of spray. Waves of the imagination that take us away, the time of a witticism. A nice escape, time for a flutter of Butterfly wings. I started reading Miss-Tic’s sentences early on. They animate in me an intellectual excitement not far from priapism. They sometimes contain a third-sense that can only appear late or remain occult…

“De mes frasques, je fais des fresques“*

A crime of modesty for insiders, but not a denial of graffiti. She takes responsibility for everything, the trucks, the vandal works that caused her many inconveniences, even celebrity. Urban art is a cornerstone of she is the undisputed lady, the Miss.

She began to carry him in 1981 in France, she rocked him when he made his first teeth in the 90s and consoled his teenage sorrows, bandaged his wounds of heart in the 2000s. Today, as he is in the prime of life, she distances herself but nevertheless, remains at his side and wouldn’t want to give up her presence.

“Je suis partie pour arriver où tu voulais en venir“*

The lady is naturally present. A muse with a singular personality who earned her spot of pioneer thanks to her mixture of seduction and tender provocation. In my opinion, tenderness is the thread through which Miss-Tic establishes this complicity. She lays the implicit as the foundation of her intimate relationship with the public.

“Je prête à rire, mais je donne à penser“*

I remember Bruno and his “Fenêtre sur rue” project in Saint-Denis… Miss-Tic was his lighthouse. I remember meeting Agnès Varda during one of her opening exhibitions at Brugier-Rigail… I told her about Chaillot, the TNP, the photographs in her first festivals in Avignon… I was very impressed to meet her at the exhibition of a street artist and I understood what they represented. Two great ladies of the Art. Agnès Varda will concretize her love of murals thanks to her film with JR. As for me, when I find Miss.Tic’s stencils, I understand that History writes itself on the walls. I understand the testimony and realize that the baton is passing.

“Partir de zéro vers l’infini“*

Mythical or Mystical, and even Mastoc according to Numa’s parodies (that is the prerogative of the stars) Holy Mother, pray for us sinners now ! Miss-Tic is a gospel that I read at every street corner.

“L’abus de plaisir est excellent pour la santé“*

*french quotes are from Miss.Tic

Text written by : Sigismond Cassidanius / Translation by : Marie Le Palec