SPEEDY GRAPHITO: An American Story

MIAMI | Solo Exhibition February 19 - April 30, 2017

Fabien Castanier Gallery is very excited to announce the grand opening of our Miami location in the Wynwood arts district, with a solo exhibition for Speedy Graphito. The exhibition, An American Story, will feature new paintings from the artist who has spent the last few months in residence in his Miami studio.

Speedy Graphito’s artistic universe has always been built on an honest dialogue concerning the role of the image within modern society. Since the inception of his career in the 1980s, his work has dealt with concepts of commercialism, iconography, and pop culture. His new series of work, what he refers to as “mon histoire de l’art” (or “my art history”), confronts our consumerist society and the omnipresence of images and globalization of culture.

His work for An American Story references motifs and themes from some of the most recognizable painters in art history, from Van Gogh and Matisse, to Andy Warhol and Tom Wesselman. Juxtaposed alongside his own style, the mixture of modern and contemporary masters stands to question the role of art and its legacy through a shifted perspective.

Speedy Graphito, a student of the renowned School of Art Estienne, has since cemented his place as one of the most influential figures who emerged from the Parisian art scene in the 1980s. His reputation has steadily grown during his 30 year career, affecting a myriad of artists by laying the foundation of his genre, urban and pop art through the lens of contemporary media culture. The constant evolution of his work is a testament to the versatility that he brings through his medium. Speedy Graphito juggles between painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video and performance. And for the past 6 years in the United States, the artist has invigorated the cultural landscape with his tireless commitment to the visual discourse of our generation.

Celebrating the global impact of Speedy Graphito, the Museum of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage is currently holding the artist’s first museum retrospective, UN ART DE VIVRE. The exhibition employs the entirety of the museum’s Villa Way Side and takes the show back through the artist’s career, from its beginning in the 1980s (where one will find the famous poster la Rué vers l’art or the Lapinture character) to the recent works of the series “mon histoire de l’art”. The museum exhibition will be on view through May 21, 2017.

The opening of Fabien Castanier Gallery’s new space and exhibition will coincide with the 2017 Art Wynwood art fair and the Miami International Boat Show, both taking place February 16-20. Fabien Castanier Gallery will be exhibiting at Art Wynwood, showing work by Speedy Graphito on our booth.

Exhibition photography by Thomas Granovsky.