Following a successful first edition in 2024, We are [still] Here brings contemporary urban art into dialogue with Parisian Petit Palais more classical and historical masterpieces.
A striking contrast, worlds colliding… and an exhibition well worth seeing!
Curated by Mehdi Ben Cheikh from Galerie Itinerrance, the exhibition presents over200 artworks from 75 French and international artists.
Featuring : ADD FUEL, AKACHA, BOM.K, BTOY, CONOR HARRINGTON, D*FACE, DACRUZ, DAN23, DAVID DE LA MANO, EL MAC, EL SEED, EVAZESIR, FAFI, FAILE, FENX, FKDL, HERA, HOM, HOPARE, HOROR, HUSH, INTI, INVADER, JAN KALAB, JANA & JS, KAN, KATRE, L’ATLAS, LE CYKLOP, LEK & SO WHAT, LOGAN HICKS, MADAME, MARKO93, MARK JENKINS, MAXIME SIAU, MAYE, MIAZ BROTHERS, MISS VAN, MOSKO, NAJAH ZARBOUT, NASTY, NICOLAS PANAYOTOU, NILKO, ORTICANOODLES, PAKONE, POSE, REA, RERO, RETNA, RETRO, ROA, ROMAIN FROQUET, SAMAN & SASAN, SANER, SEIZE, SALMA MESTIRI, SETH, SHAKA, SHEPARD FAIREY, SPEEDY GRAPHITO, STEW, SUN7, SWOON, THEAZEE, TIM CONLON, TRISTAN EATON, VINNIE, VHILS, YSEULT YZ DIGAN
Butterfly Art News is pleased to partner with the Ville de Paris for the Exhibition ‘CAPITALE(S) – 60 ans d’art urbain’, hosted within the Hotel de Ville, Paris City Hall, and running from 15 October until 3 June 2023. Free entry, but booking is essential here
Through the creations of more than 70 artists, works from prestigious collections, archive documents, photos and videos, in situ interventions, painted walls throughout the city, CAPITALE(S) presents a wide panorama of the Urban Art Movement and the importance of the Parisian scene spanning across the past 60 years.
The exhibition starts with pioneers from the 60’s and 70’s like Jacques Villegle, Raymond Hains, Ernest Pignon-Ernest or Zlotykamien.
Then the early 80’s feature the white man figures of Jerôme Mesnager, robots by Speedy Graphito and the proliferation of stencils by Miss Tic, Blek Le Rat, Mosko, Jef Aerosol, Epsylon Point.
This period of intense urban activity allows the emergence of artists’ collectives such as VLP (Vive la Peinture) affiliated with the punk culture or the Ripoulin brothers.
French-American teenager Bando (b. in 1965) introduced graffiti in France after writing in New York, followed by the New York City Rap Tour in 1982. Graffiti writers invade the banks of the Seine and adorn the palissades of the Louvre construction site. Stalingrad, a spot found by graffiti writer Ash, becomes the Hall of Fame for the prolific graffiti scene until 1989, featuring writers like Mode2, Niels ‘Shoe’ Meulman, Lokiss, Nasty, SKKI and numerous graffiti crew. In parallel Psychose paints in the catacombs and the underground sewers system.
In 1987 Keith Haring paints the emergency staircase of the Hopital Necker to provide hopes of brightening the spirits of sick children in the world’s first pediatric hospital.
Like in the US, graffiti was severely repressed in Paris in the early 90’s. American artists like Futura, A-One or even Rammellzee gain recognition from the European artistic community and present their works in galleries and museums in Paris. JonOne will settle permanently in Paris.
In the 2000’s, urban art has become a global movement with a multitude of techniques: from graffiti to street art, paste ups, stickers, stencils, mosaics and more. International artists are coming to Paris to leave their mark: Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Banksy, Vhils.
French artists have also gained international recognition: Andre, Invader, Zevs, JR, Dran, Lek and Sowat, Seth, L’Atlas, C215, Ludo, RERO, Philippe Baudelocqueto Levalet.
Specially for CAPITALE(S), Invader has put two new aliases to be flashed for all the Flash Invaders addicts and shared a fully updated map of his invasion of the streets of Paris.
The exhibition presents also immersive and playful experiences.
Kashink, Kraken and Madame have created 3 entirely virtual works, hidden in a secret room of the exhibition: “The Fifth Wall“. A hunt for clues in Augmented Reality can be found through QR codes to be scanned under the works.
Visitors can try out graffiti with a digital spray can through GRAFFITI DIGITAL Picturae.
Artist Cristobal Diaz has created a GRAFF BOX, an immersive experience combining urban calligraphic production with playful digital devices featuring 250 artists.
While it is difficult to include the full scope of artists that have been active in Paris in the past 60 years within the City Hall, the four curators Magda Danysz, Elise Herszkowicz, Nicolas Laugero Lasserre and Marko93 have gathered following artists:
• Jacques Villeglé • Zlotykamien • Ernest Pignon-Ernest • Surface Active • Captain Fluo • Edmond Marie Rouffet • Blek le Rat • Miss.Tic • VLP • 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 • Saype
There is also a prolific programme throughout the exhibition:
New murals will be painted at the Pavillon Carré de Baudouin and in several Parisian districts,
A selection of pictures will be featured on the gates of the City Hall,
Workshops, conferences and screenings of films and documentaries.
A book accompanying the exhibition is available at Gallimard / Editions Alternatives
Big thanks to all the teams, artists, photographers, lenders and institutions that have participated to the exhibition, specially Clemence Demolling, as well as all the artists that have contributed to the scene over the past 60 years.
CAPITALE(S) – 60 ANS D’ART URBAIN
PARIS HOTEL DE VILLE ( Paris City Hall), 5 Rue Lobeau 75004 Paris
Dorothy Circus Gallery is currently showing a double solo shows in Rome and London, with French street artist Seth. Julien Malland, aka SETH, portrays children, dwelling in imaginary environments that, like in a trompe l’oeil painting, belong to our reality while also opening up to a new visionary dimension. His children float in a timeless space where everything is eternal and contemporary at the same time. Moving away from an ‘easy’ graffiti code made of skulls and enraged icons, Seth celebrates innocence and simplicity by depicting extremely coloured and ordered compositions where the viewers get loose.
The title of the show, ‘Chambrum Rangeam’ means “clean up your room” – words everyone has heard from his/her mother when you are young, too young to care, too lost in a parallel universe of images, colours, and floating thoughts often too deep to describe with words. The same universe is brought back to life by the French artist who, through lines and hues and figures, helps us recall the dreams we dreamt in our bedrooms.
Each image is an invitation to navigate through the memories of a lost time where we can still find our inner child. The chambre where we meet the artist is the same room where we can find our lost fantasy, our purest emotions – the magic pixie dust that helps us fly.
Seth – Chambrum Rangeam
Until 7 December 2018
Dorothy Circus London and Rome
While Paris has been celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the May 68 Riots with multiple exhibitions, elusive artist Banksy has hit the streets of the French capital with a series of new artworks.
May 68 in France – Ten million workers on strike, young people in the streets, public services at a standstill, a paralysed economy: the state faced a major social crisis which threatened to shake its very foundations. The entire country was affected, including all sectors of activity.
Facing the entrance of La Sorbonne University, Banksy put up a dark stencil of a man hiding a saw behind his back while an amputated dog is salivating looking up at a bone. Could be a play on words ‘Saw Bone’ which sounds similar to ‘Sorbonne’, but also is a very cynical symbol of our society, raising questions of sacrifice and perceived rewards from the powers in place.
Placement and context are always very important. This is where the major student demonstrations took place. Interestingly, less than 10 meters away from this ‘Saw & Bone’ stencil, Invader placed a pixelated commemoration plaque on the Place de La Sorbonne earlier this May.
Click on the pics to enlarge
Banksy painted additional little rats characters, with the tag 1968 and the 8 falling apart and being transformed into the bow of the famous Minnie mouse, nod to Disneyland, symbolising with his stencils that the 1968 uprising has lost its luster and morphed into capitalism.
Next to the Centre Pompidou, which hosts Le Musee d’art Moderne, the largest museum of modern art in Europe, Banksy painted a mischief rat, which was later transformed into a bigger one holding a cutter. He posted the caption on his Instagram: ‘Fifty years since the uprising in Paris 1968. The birthplace of modern stencil art.’
The entire city is celebrating the 50th Anniversary, from the streets to institutions. For further historical context about the 1968 riots, the Hotel de Ville is presenting historical pictures by photograph Gilles Caron who documented the student revolts while the Archives Nationales are showing the events of May-June 1968 as seen by the authorities of the time. Earlier in May we also shared the intervention of Spanish artist ESCIF on the external walls ‘Open Borders’ of the modern art institution Palais de Tokyo ( see full coverage here).
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Stay tuned as we continue our coverage of Banksy invasion of the French capital…
During the busy art week in Paris, a series of leading international artists have been invited to paint in front of the Drouot building for the Digard Street Art Auction: Nick Walker (UK), Logan Hicks (US), Mear One (US), Miss Tic (FR), Seth (FR), Katre (FR), Cope 2 (US) and Indie 184 (US) . Legendary photographer Martha Cooper was also onsite to document the events.
