French graffiti artist Mist presents "Melting Spot" at the Speerstra Gallery.
After his solo "Class 88" in 2008 and "Faux Jumeaux" in 2010 with Tilt, French graffiti artist Mist presents "Melting Spot" at the Speerstra Gallery.
French painter-sculptor, born in Paris in 1972, Mist has a passion for graffiti since his adolescence, which he discovers in 1988 along the rails of the RER which leads him to the Estienne school where he studies graphic arts. From his first steps he stood out for his lettering and his characters, essential frescoes of the time. His style and his collaborations on many walls make him an artist quickly recognized by his peers. Since then, many exhibitions in France and abroad have allowed art lovers to discover, or rediscover, the work of this polymorphic artist who knew how to link graffiti to contemporary art.
He is one of the rare painters, from this artistic movement, to decline his talent on wall, on canvas, as in volume. In 1996, his first figurine was born. It is inspired by his favorite character, Malus, a facetious devil he paints all over the world. Pioneer of "Designers toys" in France, his figurines are collected in most countries of the world and his collaborations with Medicom toys (Japan), Kid Robot, Superplastic (USA) and Artoyz (France) on various projects make him an artist also renowned in this field.
For almost twenty years Mist has been working diligently in his studio in Montpellier. If his work draws its strength from the graphic codes of graffiti, it is also imprinted by the years spent on school benches. This double inspiration has thus allowed him to evolve towards a studio work that is both more personal and more conceptual, while keeping intact the original dynamism and spontaneity of the street. His dreamlike universe is inspired by the letters of his pseudonym while taking care to deconstruct them to go beyond the traditional representation of lettering. However, he is not limited to abstract compositions. A return to figuration is indeed noticeable through certain canvases and sculptures, thus establishing the link between painting and the universe of “Art toys” which partly constitutes his plastic universe. And if energy, audacity and the tools chosen are the elements that recall the origins of his painting, his compositions and aesthetic research make him a major figure in contemporary urban art.
He imposes no limit on his creativity and inscribes his artistic approach in a constant renewal of his forms of expression as in the multitude of media. Since 2014 the artist has produced several monumental frescoes in the cities of Montpellier and Rennes, majestic open-air canvases, thus revealing to us a new facet of his talent. In 2019, "Giant Goldo", a 3.50 meter sculpture freely inspired by the character Goldorak, was born and was first exhibited at the Urban Art Fair in Paris in 2019 and then at the Museum of Fine Arts in Nancy.
From experimentations to variations, his work detaches itself from all stylistic requirements. Mist expresses himself freely by moving away from the rules of graffiti, without denying it, because if his work tends more towards abstraction, it is still this that feeds his imagination. His paintings and sculptures offer us an effusion of hidden lettering in hypnotic and controlled colors that will be appreciated by everyone, from the amateur to the informed collector. Its thoughtful evolution thus allows it to renew itself from exhibition to exhibition while maintaining a coherent trajectory, both in aesthetics and in the spirit that guides its creation. Mist's work is eminently authentic and positive and through his works his humor and enthusiasm shine through. Freed from all conventions, he never ceases to sincerely deliver new, ever more bewitching chromatic experiences.
