In France, street art, as an individual initiative, started with social movements like the one of May 68. Pioneer street artists such as Ernest Pignon-Ernest contributed to its arrival, creating works on the streets in a spontaneous and illegal way. Today, the streets of Paris offer a diversity of works by recognized street artists that have established themselves in the last two decades, among them: Jef Aérosol, Miss. Tic and M. Chat.
Jef Aerosol
Jef Aerosol, or Jean-François Perroy, his real name, is a French artist who started street art when it had just arrived in France. Previously an English teacher, he decided to devote himself entirely to his art and laid his first stencil in the streets of Tours in 1982. Recognizable by the famous red arrow, his works can be found on the walls of many cities, such as Lille, Paris, London, Lisbon, Rome, New York, Dublin, Tokyo and Barcelona.
Miss Tic
The works of this feminist artist have been visible since 1985 in the streets of Ménilmontant, Montmartre, the Marais or the Butte-aux-Cailles. Miss Tic plays around with the stereotypes of women, particularly their seductive side, but she also uses her art to tell her life story – her breakups, her desires, her shortcomings. Miss Tic is now recognized in the world of fashion and cinema, and has been solicited for projects such as the design of the tram in Montpellier and the illustration of words in the Petit Larousse 2010.
M. Chat
His famous smiling, yellow cat, sometimes featured with white wings on its back, appears on the walls of several French and European cities. M. Chat, or Thoma Vuille, his real name, is a Franco-Swiss artist whose artistic creations appeared for the first time in 1997 in Orleans. In the early 2000s, his work began to invade the walls and rooftops of Paris. Today, the little feline can be seen on walls in New York, Cuba, Hong Kong and São Paulo. In 2016, the artist was sued by the Paris Criminal Court, but the case was dismissed, and he emerged with even greater recognition.
Ernest Pignon-Ernest
Pioneer of the street art movement, this artist from Nice started practicing urban art when it was still just starting out in the 1970s. Ernest Pignon-Ernest’s early works are politically, as well as socially, engaged. The artist deals with important subjects, such as the Algerian war, apartheid, abortion, immigration and AIDS. His works serve to awaken the consciousness of Parisians while provoking and even disturbing the viewer. At the beginning, he was accompanied by artists such as Daniel Buren and Gérard Zlotykamien. Today, the work of this street art legend adorns walls all over Paris and Ivry, but also in many cities in France and abroad. Several major exhibitions have been devoted to him in leading institutions of contemporary art.
