Earlier this year during our trip to Paris, I found myself drawn to the abundance and variety of street art. Unlike tagging, the street art in Paris is far more intentional and developed. You could quickly begin to identify the style of the artist as you came across one after the other of his or her work.
It became a sort of game to find and photograph each piece of street art as we wandered the many Paris neighborhoods.
Here are some of the artists I encountered during my walks.
Konny Steding
Konny Steding is a Berlin artist living in Paris. You can see more of her work on her website. This particular one is located in the 6th Arrondissement on the rue de Seine.
Jérôme Mesnager
Jérôme Mesnager is a pioneer of street art in Paris, having done it for more than 30 years. He is known for the l’Homme en blanc (Man in White), which is a symbol of light, strength and peace.
In this video interview, you can see him walking around in the daytime touching up his work. More of his work can been seen on Flickr.
Julien Malland
Julien Malland, also known as Seth Globepainter or “SETH”, is known for his cast of characters. I came across this boy in his blue striped hoodie more than once.
I like how his characters interact with the space and environment. In the one on the top right, you can imagine the gate opening and the boy and girl being separated only to come back together when it closes again. The one on the bottom right has his character alongside Jérôme Mesnager’s Man in White, which makes me wonder which one was there first.
Kashink
Another woman street artist in Paris, Kashink’s work is colorful and whimsical. According to her website she only “paints men, preferably fat and hairy, looking like badass yet sensitive gangsters, alien-looking ogers, or shamans from ancient tribes.”
Fred le Chevalier
Also known as Fred Knight, his work has a distinctive, graphic feel with a cast of characters that pepper the streets of Paris. One of my personal favorites, his work is humorous, imaginative and easily recognizable.
I was also fascinated by the paste up technique where paper cutouts are adhered to exterior walls and surfaces. Over time, the layering of other items as well as the tearing and decay of the pieces gives them an interesting, dynamic quality.
Leo & Pipo
A street art duo, Leo & Pipo enlarge images of 1920s era characters and place them in settings around Paris. I like how they’ve framed this soldier in a doorway surrounded by corrugated metal.
Céline Lebovitch Moser
Also known as Céline Miss Fuck, is the third female street artist I came across during my visit. Her work tends to be about gender and sexuality. For this one, I can’t tell if the stripes were there first or not but regardless, they work well together and it feels intentional.
