Now in its fifth edition, the 2019 Wall Street Art Festival has begun, bringing world-famous artists to the southern suburbs of the French capital. Organized from May to December in partnership with the Greater Paris Sud Seine-Essonne-Sénart agglomeration community and Gautier Jourdain, co-founder of Galerie Mathgoth – Paris, it’s become a signature cultural attraction to 24 cities in the region. Thus far, the first group of installments have been made by artists James REKA, Belin and Zmogk.
Belin in Evry-CourcouronnesAbout the Murals
Located along both sides of the media library in Savigny-Le-Temple, Reka’s monumental work “Mother Nature” can be found. Whether it’s a wall or canvas, the artist uses strong lines, dynamic movements and vivid colors to bring two opposing figures together that open a dialogue between the viewer and his environment. Created over days during a major heat wave in the city, one might think it’s reflected the warm color palette of oranges, yellows and blues that the artist selected.
Zmogk uses a similar technique for his mural “Butterflies” in Lieusaint. From the color scheme to the geometric pattern the artist used to depict what look like stunning wings coming out of the building entrance, you can feel the influences of pop and graffiti culture presented in a vibrant and abstract way.
The third mural created for the first installment of the Wall Street Festival can be found in Evry-Courcouronnes. Belin’s work, “Laurita” is a stunning and creative portrait illustrated in a style he’s dubbed post neo cubism. Using his own photographs for his murals, they are often based on loved ones, breaking up elements of their faces in order to recompose eyes, ears, and mouths into distorted configurations that are mesmerizing, always leaving the viewer in complete awe.
Reka in Savigny-Le-Temple
Zmogk in LieusaintAbout James REKA
James Reka is a young contemporary Australian artist based in Berlin, Germany. His origins lie in the alleyways and train lines of Melbourne’s inner-suburbs where he spent over a decade refining his now-emblematic aesthetic. Influenced by pop culture, cartoons and illustrations, his character work has come to represent the beginnings of a new style of street art: clean, unique and not necessarily on the street. He has held solo shows in London, San Francisco, Denmark and Melbourne, has exhibited at the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Bristol, as well as pieces appearing in exhibitions in New York, Munich, Denver and Cologne. On the streets, his characters adorn the walls of cities around the world including Milan, Paris, Montreal and Berlin. Recently, Reka’s works were acquisitioned by the National Gallery of Australia for their permanent collection, cementing his place as one of Australia’s most respected contemporary street artists.
Belin in Evry-CourcouronnesAbout Belin
Spanish artist Miguel Ángel Belinchón Bujes, or Belin, has long been known in the graffiti world for his photorealistic murals and for his talented appropriation of the rules of hyper-realism, which he has freely transcribed into urban environments since 2001. However, after a trip to Pablo Picasso’s birthplace his work has begun to adopt elements of cubism—now producing creative portraits in a style he’s dubbed post neo cubism. His works are often based on loved ones, breaking up elements of their faces in order to recompose eyes, ears, and mouths into distorted configurations.
About Zmogk
Konstantin Danilov aka Zmogk is a respected graffiti artist from Moscow. He is one of the few Russian writers who started doing graffiti in the late 1990s and is still in the game. His works are an intricate interplay of memories and fantasies. They reflect the search for a balance between the intuitive, the subconscious, the radically free initial stage of working on a canvas and the clear, orderly and rational stage of bringing it to completion. By combining these seemingly opposing approaches, he creates geometric compositions, which look chaotic at first glance, built with color and lines, referencing cubism, expressionism, and fauvism. These compositions are narrative experiments with frequent incorporations of recognizable images: faces, landscapes, etc. They can be perceived and felt individually, often in a most unexpected and personal way.
Reka in Savigny-Le-Temple
Zmogk in LieusaintAbout the Wall Street Art Festival Grand Paris Sud
Now in its fifth edition, the Wall Street Art Festival brings dozens of street artists to add beauty and colour all over Grand Paris Sud. Organized by the Greater Paris Sud Seine-Essonne-Sénart agglomeration community and Gautier Jourdain, co-founder of Galerie Mathgoth – Paris, it has been promoting its urban heritage since 2015 with public art initiatives by local, national and international artists that add vibrance to neighborhoods throughout the region.
Wall Street Art Festival: Website | Facebook | Instagram
James REKA: Website | Instagram
Zmogk: Website | Facebook | Instagram
Belin: Website | Facebook | Instagram
