The Very Best of Urban Art - Opera Gallery

The Very Best of Urban Art

POW!
The Very Best of Urban Art
Opera Gallery and Art Walk bring a collection of the very
best within urban art to Cannes. Art originally featured
in city-landscapes and streets, rendering raw and fearless
images , created by smart habitants of many subcultures.
Urban art is whimsical, colourful and meaningful all at
once. A POW! of modern reflection and artistic appeal.
The pop up gallery in Cannes is an ongoing collaboration
between Katinka Traaseth of Art Walk and the internationally
spread and acclaimed Opera Gallery Group, founded in
Paris and Singapore by Gilles Dyan in 1994. Together they
offer collectors and art devotees a diversity of art from all
the corners of the globe. The pop up concept indicates the
gallery stays on for a limited time only, making the art experience
(and its location) fleeting and even more valuable.
The Godfather of graffiti is SEEN. His nickname points to
his main desire - which in fact is to be seen. And he has
succeeded . Among his infamous stunts are spray painting
the Hollywood sign and outnumbering commercial billboards
with SEEN-artworks in New York City, in the 1980s.
Today a few of his clever icons have found their way to canvases
- lucky enough, for the art collector.
Humor is an obvious part of street art. Ron English certainly
has his intact, probably being the only artist to place the
face of Mickey Mouse on to the breasts of Marilyn Monroe.
And probably being the only artist to fuse Abraham Lincoln
and Barack Obama into one portrait. Character-creatorgenius
and one of the world’s most productive urban artists,
English spins political and consumerist statements on to his
canvases as well as city walls.
Equally resourceful in his painted testimonials is Vitaly
Rusakov . The imagery of this young Russian artist concerns
communism, politics and freedom. His colour-use is
powerful and his designs are brave. His work is spread
through out the walls of Russia, and after being recognized
as more than a street muralist, his raw reports can be
witnessed in galleries as well.
Mr. Brainwash became a street art starlet when Banksy
filmed a documentary about him that premiered in 2010.
The movie Exit Through the Gift Shop earned the street artist
great success, and he has opened numerous sell-out shows
since. His art is provocative and raw, and acts as a tribute to
original, “Warholesque” pop art. Icons, prior pop art, and
entertainment inspire his sneering yet wondrous concoctions.
Mr. Brainwash has in fact become such a sensation,
that Madonna herself asked him to create several album ,
DVD and vinyl covers.
While some street artists are taken with celebrity, others
crave to leave their mark across the globe. Artists participating
in the movement The London Police have succeeded
in doing so in 35 countries, and counting. Founders Bob
Gibson and Chaz Barrison spread love and joy with their
stickers, stencils and spray cans. Their iconic LADS characters
teamed with tight architectural backdrops make for
feel-good, clever creations, on both brick and paper.
The collagist, street artist, and found-art creative duo behind
FAILE is Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller. The duo has become
famous for their innovative techniques of getting their
passive and plain messages across to the impressed public.
Their mediums are many, and their images both colourful
and very strong.
Parisian artist C215 also projects deep meaning from his
dreamy and mystical works. He is also a poet, but he relies
on his piercing colours and strokes to express himself
visually. He leaves his portraits (usually of locals, children or
his daughter Nina) very open to the viewer, so it can tell its
very own lyrical tale to each spectator.
Speedy Graphito, TILT and Krito all draw great inspiration
from advertising, brand-logos, cartoons, symbols and
icons. They have their whimsical and naive colour-use in
common. This trifecta of artists construct mood-elevators,
that still challenge the intellect, in each their individual way.
Speedy Graphito is in fact a pioneer of French street art,
and a master of pop culture references. TILT, also French,
is a sworn server of basic graffiti, proving his old school and
bubbly style is just as relevant today. Krito, who started out
sketching cartoons to amuse children in the nursing home
where he worked, soon became recognized for his markertalent.
Now his bright figures are loved by urban art enthusiasts
of all ages.
Blek le Rat is considered the father of stencil graffiti. He is
the artist that brought the street art scene of New York to
France, but twisted it to his own Parisian tune. In the 80s
he started out painting rats on walls, meaning they were
a symbol of freedom just like urban art. Today he focuses
on people, often life-size, paying extra attention to the
actual figure . There is no added distraction of complex
backgrounds or thematic text. This is to further his goal of
bringing art to the conscience of the people.
Welcome to POW!
Enjoy the exhilarating urban art explosion.
Gilles Dyan
Founder and Chairman of Opera Gallery Group
Katinka Traaseth
Founder and Director of Art Walk
Pop Up Gallery in Cannes
11, square Mérimée, 06400 Cannes
cannes@operagallery.com / +33 (0)4 97 06 53 86

Born in 1952 in Paris, Blek le Rat is the assumed name
of Xavier Prou. Widely considered the father of stencil
graffiti, Blek le Rat began his career by stencilling rats
on the streets of Paris in the early 1980’s. Blek le Rat
had initially been inspired by graffiti art in New York,
but he soon served to establish a parallel French street
art scene. His use of the stencil was a way of adapting
American graffiti art to French culture by invoking its
Latin roots.
Blek le Rat focuses on the figure more than many other
graffiti artists, with very little text appearing in his
works. He stencils detailed images of common people
as well as classical figures - including depictions of
Greco-Roman statues or historical icons. These are set
against a monochromatic or collage background executed
in spray paint and acrylic. Hence his aesthetic
is at once traditional and avant-garde, both contemporary
and timeless.
4 5

Violoniste, 2012
Les Danseurs et le rat, 2013
6 Stencil, spray paint and acrylic on canvas . 210 x 140 cm - 82.7 x 55.1 in.
Stencil and mixed media on canvas . 116 x 89 cm - 45.7 x 35 in.
7

Born in 1959 in Texas, Ron English is an American
contemporary artist who explores popular brand
imagery and advertising. His artistic signature style
employs a mash-up of high and low cultural touchstones,
including comic superhero, mythology
and totems of art history, in order to create a visual
language of evolution. He is also widely considered as
a seminal figure in the advancement of contemporary
art from traditional wild-style lettering into clever
statement and masterful contemporary art.
Work and inspiration: the artist was considered one of
the fathers of modern contemporary art.
Culture jamming is one contemporary art aspect
of his work, involving “liberating” commercial billboards
with his own art messages. Frequent targets of
his work include Joe Camel, McDonald’s, and Mickey
Mouse. Ron English can be considered the “celebrated
prankster father of dollar-pop”, who wrangles
carefully created corporates, and use them against
the very corporation they are meant to represent.
Contemporary artist Ron English is considered one of
the fathers of modern street art and has initiated and
participated in illegal public art campaigns since the
early eighties.
8 9

Superman, 2007
Yin Yang propaganda, 2010
10 Oil on canvas . 91,5 x 61 cm - 36 x 24 in.
Mixed media on canvas . 152,5 x 213,5 cm - 60 x 84 in.
11

Dum English Astronaut Sculpture:
Gasmask Mickey Sculpture
12 Fiberglass and steel . Edition of 5 . Height: 122 cm - 48 in.
Fiberglass and steel . Edition of 10 . Height: 122 cm - 48 in. . Signed and numbered by Ron English
13

Born in 1973, C215 is the moniker of Christian Guémy,
a French street artist hailing from Paris. His striking
portraits of local people, children and especially his
daughter Nina are expressive and distinctive in style.
Although C215 has been writing and publishing
poetry separately, the artist never adds text to his
stencils, in order to give the viewer the full possibility
of the interpretation. In his choice of backgrounds,
layers of random, yet well-selected found objects
speak of passing time, with an outcome that is both,
aesthetical and meaningful.
His elaborate stencils - if outside a gallery - appear in
the streets of various cities all over the globe, such as
New Delhi, London, Istanbul, Fez, Rome, Barcelona
and Paris, lighting up the urban spaces they decorate.
Every stencil has a reason to exist in its specific, wellthought-of
place and all his pieces are hand-cut and
sprayed originals with a mix of found objects.
14 15

Sufi, 2013
Life on Mars, 2013
16 Stencil on cardboard . 80 x 60 cm - 31.5 x 23.6 in.
Stencil on wood . 100 x 150 cm - 39.4 x 59.1 in.
17

Born in 1966, Thierry Guetta aka Mr. Brainwash,
started his career as a French documentary filmmaker,
transitioned into a rogue street artist, and has now
emerged as one of the most prominent pop artists of
the today scene. This could be viewed as a cooping of
tradition by the street or an attack on pop art culture.
The artist put together the largest scale of pop art happening
Los Angeles has seen, rivalled only by Banksy’s
2006 show held in downtown Los Angeles. In 2008,
Mr. Brainwash’s L.A. solo exhibit Life is beautiful, combined
images with installation; the show’s duration
was extended from two weeks to three months due to
popular demand, with thousands of visitors coming
to appreciate his artwork. Two years later, in 2010, he
opened his expansive solo exhibit Icons, in New York,
closely followed by Icons Remix. The work of Mr. Brainwash
is rooted in pop art. As Warhol looked to icons of
consumer culture and celebrity, Mr. Brainwash looks
to art and entertainment as the subjects of his work.
He includes artistic tradition and even prior pop art as
the subject of his work.
18 19

Tomato sprays, 2011
Charlie Chaplin, 2011
20 Stencil and mixed media on canvas . 122 x 162,5 cm - 48 x 64 in.
Stencil and mixed media on canvas . 162,5 x 122 cm - 64 x 48 in.
21

Born in 1961, the street artist, Richard Mirando aka
Seen hails from the Bronx, New York. Seen’s career
began at just twelve, when he started painting New
York subway cars, soon gaining a reputation with
fellow taggers in the collective, United Artists, for
covering whole cars.
Rightfully called the “Godfather of Graffiti”, Seen
has continued to exhibit his creativity ever since. He
persevered in tagging on the New York subway in the
1980’s, even after the Metropolitan Transit Authority
had successfully pressured many other artists to
stop. Early that decade, Seen had begun to produce
works on canvas that were purchased and displayed
internationally. Entering both museum and private
collections, Seen’s artwork was displayed alongside
that of art icons such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith
Haring and Andy Warhol (New York / New Wave in
1981). Seen helped transform street art into an art
genre recognized by the mainstream.
Active for over four decades, Seen has not only
changed the way we see street art, but also helped
shape our definitions of art at large - he has imprinted
his signature on the streets we walk as well as the world
of contemporary art.
22 23

Superman 02, 2009
Wonder Woman 02, 2009
24 Stencil and spray paint on canvas . 220 x 320 cm - 86.6 x 126 in.
Stencil and spray paint on canvas . 220 x 320 cm - 86.6 x 126 in.
25

Born in 1985, Vitaly Rusakov is a young artist from
the Russian underground scene. He is mostly known
for his Street Art murals in Russia, especially in
Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains at the
border of Europe and Asia. In 1998-99, the artist first
used his “magic” lead pencil on the walls of the city,
starting with blocks of raw coal. Vitaly has participated
in several street contests and shows throughout Russia
and abroad, competitions in which he always stood
out and received an award. He still belongs to the
Arterror group, which he founded.
Selected in 2007 by the Montresso Foundation, he likes
to focus on issues which are at the heart of Russian
history. Noticed by Opera Gallery, a selection of his
paintings is now exhibited in various international
shows alongside the most reputed artists of the
Urban Art movement. Vitaly Rusakov now works in
Yekaterinburg and Marrakech where he is one of the
permanent artists of the Montresso Foundation’s “Red
Garden” studio.
26 27

Russian forest 04, 2013
Battle for freedom 09, 2013
28 Acrylic on canvas . 146 x 114 cm - 57.5 x 44.9 in.
Acrylic on canvas . 146 x 114 cm - 57.5 x 44.9 in.
29

Born in 1961, graffiti artist Speedy Graphito (real
name Olivier Rizzo) is one of the pioneers of French
street art. He started working on the streets of Paris
in the early 80’s. His iconic stencil work has gone on
to inspire future generations, and remains as strong
now as when he first started.
His work is inspired by the world around us and in
particular the barrage of advertising logos that are
part of today’s consumer culture. Other influences
include America in the “50’s, cartoons, Manga, and
images from the Maya culture. His strong colours
and juxtaposition of imagery is meant to make us
question the iconic images he uses, and the popular
culture it is taken from.
Recently Speedy has been executing his street art in
Los Angeles, and participated in the Dogtown Artists
United Art Crawl in 2011. His works are found in
private and public collections throughout the world
including London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris,
Dubai, and Asia.
30 31

Spray cash blue, 2010
Le Baiser, 2009
32 Acrylic on canvas . 180 x 150 cm - 70.9 x 59.1 in.
Acrylic on canvas . 100 x 100 cm - 39.4 x 39.4 in.
33

Born in Chelmsford, England in the 1970’s, The
London Police are Bob Gibson and Chaz Barrison. The
London Police started in 1998 when big English geezers
headed to Amsterdam to rejuvenate the visually
disappointing streets of the drug capital of the world.
The motive was to combine travelling and making
street art to create an amazing way of life not seen
since the days of King Solomon. From 2002 onward
TLP started sending missionaries into all corners of
the globe. Known for their iconic LADS characters and
precision marking, TLP have recently celebrated 10
strong years in the art world and their work has graced
streets and galleries in 35 countries during this time.
London Policemen have come and gone but founding
members are still known to walk the streets of every
city in the world spreading love with pens and stickers.
Last year saw the return of Bob Gibson to The London
Police after five years of touring with the indie band
‘MOSS’. And so the original founding members are
re-embarking on their quest to combine making artwork
and travelling the globe to better themselves and
spread artistic love through the world. The blueprint
for this new phase was to produce solid back-to-basics
black and white artworks collaborating the iconic
LADS characters drawn by Chaz with the tight architectural
and illustrative landscapes of Bob Gibson.
34 35

Docking bay 94, 2013
The Kessler run, 2013
36 Indelible ink on canvas . 80 x 80 cm - 31.5 x 31.5 in.
Indelible ink on canvas . 80 x 80 cm - 31.5 x 31.5 in.
37

Born in 1973 in Toulouse, Tilt is a French graffiti artist
recognized by the world. He is considered a “graffiti
fetishist” because he learned his trade in the streets
and on trains as a kid. From the moment he made
his first drawings on a skate ramp in 1988, his career
has been fuelled by numerous trips. Tilt left his mark
on the walls of the United States, Hong Kong, Japan,
Mexico, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan,
China, Canada, the Philippines, Indonesia, Maldives
and more than 12 countries across Europe.
Tilt likes to show that basic, primitive graffiti is as
strong as 3D lettering. It focuses on shapes, strong
colours and also a reflection of its history. Similarly the
use of sparkling shapes and curves refers to his obsession
with beautiful women.
38 39

Bleu pétrole 1, 2012
Enjoy 2, 2012
40 Mixed media on canvas . 200 x 200 cm - 78.7 x 78.7 in.
Mixed media on canvas . 162 x 114 cm - 63.8 x 44.9 in.
41

FAILE is the Brooklyn-based artistic collaboration
between Patrick McNeil (b. 1975, Edmonton, CA)
and Patrick Miller (b. 1976, Minneapolis, MN). Since
its inception in 1999, FAILE has attained global
recognition for their pioneering use of wheatpasting
and stenciling in the increasingly established arena of
street art, and for their explorations of duality through
a fragmented style of appropriation and collage.
During this time, FAILE adapted its signature mass
culture-driven iconography to a wide array of media,
from wooden boxes and window pallets to more
traditional canvas, prints, sculptures, stencils, multimedia
installation, and prayer wheels. While FAILE’s
work is constructed from found visual imagery, and
blurs the line between “high” and “low” culture, recent
exhibitions demonstrate an emphasis on audience
participation, a critique of consumerism, and the incorporation
of religious media and architecture into
their work.
42 43

Our romance
Addicted & alone
44 Acrylic and silkscreen ink on wood . Steel frame . 175,5 x 214,6 cm - 67.5 x 84.5 in.
Acrylic and spray paint on wood . 79,4 x 93,3 cm - 31.2 x 36.7 in.
45

Krito was born Vladimir Krutov in Krasnoyarsk,
Siberia, in 1981. Nothing predisposed the artist
to become a painter, except maybe his passion for
Contemporary Art, which was quite inaccessible
during the Soviet Union’s reign. As a curious young
man, his obsession was researching endless subjects
on art. Always very close to children, Krito worked
as a hospital nurse where he decided to amuse
young patients with his cartoon sketches of traditional
Russian characters. His figures were always
depicted with bright colours and encircled with heavy
black markers. His sketches became more and more
accomplished and earned the artist his very first art
commissions as of 2008. His characters pleased both
young and old from this period on, to the point where
he now devotes all of his time to his art.
Today, Krito divides his time between his native
Krasnoyarsk and the art studios of the Montresso
Foundation, where he leads a group of artists who
work actively on collaborative projects. Krito also
participates in several group exhibitions and Street Art
demonstrations throughout Europe, Asia, the United
States (Miami, Florida) and Morocco (Casablanca and
Azemmour).
46 47

Acrylic on canvas . 100 x 100 cm - 39.4 x 39.4 in.
48 49
No. 32, 2013

Pop Up Gallery in Cannes
11, square Mérimée, 06400 Cannes
cannes@operagallery.com / +33 (0)4 97 06 53 86