C215 (street artist)

C215, is the moniker of Christian Guémy, a French street artist hailing from Paris who has been described as "France's answer to Banksy".[2]

Christian Guémy, aka C215
Stencil by C215 in Brooklyn NY
(photo by dumbonyc)
Mural in Djerbahood, Tunisia[1]

C215 primarily uses stencils to produce his art. His first stencil work was put up in 2006, but he has been a graffiti artist for (as of 2011) over 20 years.[3] His work consists mainly of close up portraits of people. C215's subjects are typically those such as beggars, homeless people, refugees, street kids and the elderly. The rationale behind this choice of subject is to draw attention to those that society has forgotten about. Cats are another frequent subject of his work.[4] C215 is a prolific street artist and has practiced his art in cities all over the world. His stencils may be seen in Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, Rome, Paris, Oslo, Colombo and different cities of Morocco.[5]

In October 2014, C215 visited Valletta, Malta because of his interest in Caravaggio as well as 17th-century religious architecture. He produced various examples of street art on post boxes within the city,[6] but MaltaPost removed the artworks after a few days.[7] Various people have criticized MaltaPost for removing the artworks, including the mayor of Valletta Alexei Dingli.[8][9]

In addition to his street work, C215 also produces commercial artwork for galleries on wood and canvas. C215 has to date done a number of solo gallery shows to promote his work. C215's most recent show is entitled 'Community Service', currently running in Paris.[10]

Guémy's daughter Nina is a popular subject of his stencil art. She has also become a stencil artist in her own right.[3]

Further reading
  • C215,Pyramyd Editions, ISBN 978-2-35017-268-2
  • C215, Critères Editions, 2010, ISBN 2-917829-17-6
  • Community Service, Critères Editions, 2011, ISBN 978-2-917829-38-7
  • Stencil History X, Editions C215, 2007, ISBN 2-9525682-2-7
  • C215 Un THAIIS DAMASCENNAH, Castelvecchi Editore, 2013 (IT, EN), ISBN 9788876158858

References
  1. Ben Cheikh, Mehdi (2015). Djerbahood : le musée de street art à ciel ouvert. Albin Michel.
  2. "French Banksy makes budding snapper a star". Metro. 14 December 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  3. Sadler, Stephanie (25 January 2011). "Street artist interview: C215". Street Art London. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  4. Jobson, Christopher (1 June 2016). "Stenciled Cats by C215 Prowl the Streets". Collossal. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  5. Arden (30 August 2009). "C215 – Wise Words". CFYE. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  6. Depares, Ramona (27 October 2014). "Street art by 'France's Banksy' colours Valletta". Times of Malta. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  7. Depares, Ramona (4 November 2014). "Institutionalism 1 – Art 0". Times of Malta. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  8. "Valletta street art by celebrated French artist is painted over". Times of Malta. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  9. "Is this art or vandalism? MaltaPost in Valletta 'street art' row". Bay Network. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  10. "La Galerie Itinerrance". Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
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