Back in summer 2011, while they were showing in Toulouse at the GHP Galerie, the Da Mental Vaporz crew couldn’t resist leaving their mark on an iconic building: the former Palais des Congres of Toulouse (exhibition center). Famous for its political corruption and dirty money, the place was being left abandoned following legal disputes and is currently being squatted by a small community of local residents.

During a week-end, all members of the crew Bom-K, Blo, Brusk, Dran, Gris1, ISO, Jaw, Kan, and Sowat revisited the building and gave it a second life. Featuring harmoniously their distinctive style, the prolific DMV crew created a skull headed giant with his heart on his sleeve.

Eight months later, while France is being crippled by snow storms and presidential elections delirium, the Da Mental Vaporz have decided to head to sunny horizons down under, boarding their vessel “La Misericorde – Le Venin” with a pirate flag reminder of the  “Squatters”  face. Direction Melbourne, Australia…

Opera Gallery London is providing a complete insight into the art of self-taught French artist Philippe Pasqua through a broad collection of artworks featuring paintings, drawings and sculptures.

The show includes monumental provocative nudes, as well as sensual up close and personal portraits. There are also Pasqua’s signature large “palimpsests” – works on paper mixing silk-painting techniques, printing and painting, where the painter goes back over his own work and adds patches of colour to them or redesigns them.

Another major aspect of Pasqua’s work lies in his series of “vanities”. For years the artist has been collecting human skulls, which he covers in gold or silver leaf and decorates with butterflies with iridescent colours.  Other gigantic skulls have been sculpted in Carrara marble, and tattooed with delicate motifs of imaginary flowers interleaved with mythical animals.

View more pics from the opening HERE

Philippe Pasqua
Until 15 February 2012
Opera Gallery London

Scream Gallery is currently presenting their second annual exhibition entitled “Unweave the Rainbow” with emerging artists from the USA, UK, China and Poland, each with a unique style, who have in common a psychedelic, other worldy or surreal sensibility.

Featured artists include Andrew McAttee, Cain Caser, Caroline Jane Harris, Jen Stark, Malgosia Stepnik, Scott Hove, and Ye Hongxing.

More pics from the opening HERE

Unweave the Rainbow
Until 17 March 2012
www.screamlondon.com

Graffiti legend and contemporary artist, Futura recently opened his newest exhibition Expansions at Galerie Jerome De Noirmont in Paris.

The new body of works on canvasses explore spontaneity and geometric abstract forms through a vibrant colour palette, where viewers might recognise either real or imaginary landscapes. Futura happily signed books and invites for the eager crowd.

View the full set of pics of the opening HERE

Guillotine also did a video of the Futura mural in the gallery

Futura 2012 Expansions
Until 29 February 2012
Galerie Jerome de Noirmont Paris

Damien Hirst’s latest exhibition, The Complete Spot Paintings, is being held simultaneously at all 11 Gagosian Galleries across the world, from London to Paris, Geneva, Rome, Hong Kong, New York and Los Angeles.

Presenting a retrospective of Hirst’s infamous spot paintings between 1986 and 2011, the exhibition features dotty canvases of all shapes and sizes, from miniature dots to large format spots.  Viewers are submerged by this colourful pharmaceutical universe where no colour is being repeated within any single piece.

The artist is even offering a personalised signed spotty print to the lucky few who complete the polka-dot marathon and visit the 11 locations within a month.

We stopped by the Paris exhibition which expands over two floors:

View the full set of pics HERE

In 2012 Jef Aerosol celebrates his 30 years carreer anniversary of street stencils.

For the occasion, at the Musee en Herbe in Paris currently showcasing a Keith Haring Exhibition, he presents his stencil portraits of Keith Haring and pays tribute to the New  York scene of the 60s-80s  that greatly inspired him.

This exhibition is also part of L’Explosition! project which presents 15 international established street artists together with new artists. Jef Aerosol is exhibiting together with   Swing.

More pics from the opening HERE

CITY FLASH
JEF AÉROSOL and SWING
Du 10/01 au 29/01 @ Le Musée en Herbe
21 Rue Hérold, 75001 Paris

John Andrew Perello aka JonOne, legendary NY graffiti artist based in Paris is currently having a solo exhibition entitled The City Breathes at Galerie Rabouan Moussion.

In his new body of work, JonOne is blending multiple layers of materials from plexi, wood to  aluminium and steel to create vibrant and dynamic three dimensional shapes which mimic the richness of the streets.

JonOne – The city Breathes
Until 21 January 2011
Galerie Rabouan Moussion
121 rue veille du temple
Paris

I was fortunate to visit French graffiti artist TILT in his studio in Toulouse as he prepared for multiple shows in London at POW, Singapore and Manila, and to follow him across the streets. When not painting graffiti on naked “bubble girls” across the world, the self declared “graffiti fetichist” leverages his fun and colourful bubble letters to represent iconic portraits, shoes and flags.

The studio is full of customised items from Tilt spray cans, Swatch watch, photos of Bubble Girls, stilettos and even engraved dildos… Looking closely at the canvases,  letters form secret sentences to the amusement of the viewer. The US flag for example is made of the words “Sex and Violence”.

Following Tilt in the streets while he put his trademark throw up, and again in London for a massive Union Jack mural consisting of the lyrics from the Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the UK”.
       

More photos by Butterfly here.

Here is a great video from the London mural directed by Big Addict

This Christmas season East London heads away from the North Pole and goes underground. Set within the Old Shoreditch tube station, SEASON TICKET deliberately spills milk for the Xmas madness and spins Santa on his bobble-head.

With a  hoard of amusements and occasionally dark festive fayre, SEASON TICKET presents a street art exhibition, installations, live painting, DIY art stalls and films projections. Over 18′s are welcome to a trans-gender ‘Sink The Pink’ Bad Santas’ grotty grotto.  Creative cakes & mulled wine to warm the festive cobbles.

Featuring: Rowdy, Lucas Price, Monkey, Seymour & Co, Dave The Chimp, Alex Daw, Sickboy, Sweet Toof, Russel Morris, Rebecca & Mike, James Jessop, Rory Dean, Peggy ,Tony Lea, Skewville, Cain Casar, Head Hoods, Alex Simpson, Richard Galloway,Alex Booker, Art Against Knives, Five Finger Discount, The Art Collective, Beach London, Vinnie Nylon, House Of Brag + more + special guests!

More pics from the opening HERE

Further info on www.highrollersociety.com

Canal Plus Street TV is featuring a great interview with Mode 2, whom I had the opportunity to meet on several occasions in London, New York and Los Angeles.