Anonymous Gallery Presents: Monsieur A “André Saraiva” (Mexico City, Mexico)

Andre Saraiva

SOLO PROJECT
October 11 – November 10, 2012
Opening reception: October 11, 8-11 PM
MEXICO CITY:
173 Zacatecas
Col. Roma Norte, Cuauhtémoc
Ciudad de México, Mexico 06700

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“Graffiti is not vandalism but a beautiful crime”
Monsieur A is known by his distinctive figures –  long lined characters with disturbing yet charismatic smiles. This Atelier de Production et de Création, develops precise execution in his deceptively naive contours or childish lines that depict more than we see.
Andre’s recognizable geography, cursive and dynamic hand style transforms his life into an oeuvre that carries his aesthetic values and fuses with his own stylistic criteria in a perfect constellation of art and fashion. Within the variable contexts, André oversize’s graffiti production to personalize spaces while constructing landscapes of identity and recognition. André could be described in Baudillard’s words “ingenious publicity in which each person becomes the impresario of his own existence”.
André Saraiva, has expanded the definition of art as itself, while re-defining “what an artist can do” – his new extended worlds manifest in production, process and exhibition. With this playful manifestation, André will take over the newly renovated project space of Anonymous Gallery, Mexico City. The space will surround the artist with his works on paper while this cross-cultural phenomena paints live in front of a viewing audience on the night of
October 11th.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
 
André Saraiva, also known as Monsieur André or Monsieur A, is a French graffiti artist. Born as son of Portuguese parents in Uppsala, Sweden, he has been living in Paris since his childhood. Saraiva started doing graffiti in 1985, quickly acquiring notoriety in the late 90s with Mr. A, a cartoonish character with a top hat, big smile, long legs, and a cross and circle for his eyes that could be found all over the streets of Paris. A famous member of the early Parisian graffiti scene alongside Invader and Zevs, he also made an appearance in Banksy’s street art movie ‘Exit through the Giftshop’. Thanks to his distinctive poetic and joyful style and his use of pink colour, he became instantly recognizable – for example in his Love Graffiti series, which he created in the year 2000 – and expanded into various techniques such as wall paintings and sculpture from there. Even installations now count to his repertoire as seen in ‘Art in the Streets’, recently on display at the MOCA in Los Angeles that was curated by Jeffrey Deitch and Aaron Rose.
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