Until August 21 at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco
This major exhibition in Monaco celebrates the anniversary of the Graffiti movement and names its Art: Pressionism.
500 major works by the greatest international artists trace back the 40 years of the last pictorial movement of the late 20th century.
The Pressionism exhibition has been an event this summer: 40,000 visitors across more than 2,000 m² of exhibition space in the Diaghilev and Nijinsky halls, and 1,200 m² of esplanade and sea-view terrace.
At the heart of the Principality of Monaco, the Grimaldi Forum has become one of the most important cultural centers of the Mediterranean.
The Art of Graffiti and Pressionism
On July 21, 1971, the New York Times revealed a new graphic expression, the Tag, and its author, the legendary Taki 183.
To the first strokes of the marker was soon added the pressure of the aerosol spray can, whose color enriched the works and intensified artistic rivalries.
Art under pressure was born in New York.
“Pressionism, 40 Years of Graffiti” retraces this history with over 500 paintings, most previously unseen, from the 70s to today.
This major summer exhibition celebrates the anniversary of the Art of Graffiti, officially names it, and establishes it within the history of Art.
Pressionism is christened in Monaco Birth of Pressionism
Forty years ago, to the day, on July 21, 1971, the whole world
discovered in a New York Times article a new
graphic expression, initiated by the one whose interview would make him
a legend: Taki 183 (Taki, diminutive of his first name Demitrius, followed by 183
for his street number).
These Tags, coded signatures, flourished in New York and major American cities, covering walls and fences before spreading to the wagons, the mobile canvases for their works.
The black marker that started the Tag was soon replaced by the aerosol spray can, adding color and surface to Graffiti.
The most creative figures such as Blade, Stayhigh, Seen, and Phase 2, among others, invented new styles: letters, bubbles, clouds,
Wild Style, three-dimensional outlines, and bright colors.
In the early 80s, Futura and Squat brought graffiti to France, where Bando, a Franco-American painter, established it in Saint-Germain-des-Prés with Spirit, Blitz, and Psyckoze.
Artists painted the Seine’s banks, the Louvre’s fences before taking over the Stalingrad wasteland, which was the territory of Jayone, Skki, and Ash, for their first major international gathering.
The movement exploded in France, then throughout Europe, and has now reached, from Brazil to China, all five continents. History
of the artistic movement Taki 183 of Pressionism
The Italian word “graffiti” derives from the Greek “graphein” which means to write or paint.
Early on, the search for the most beautiful form of writing transformed mere writers into calligraphic painters, sketchbook in hand, working every day to invent their lettering, their own style under pressure.
The primary painting tool, the aerosol spray can, is extremely difficult to master.
It’s the distance, speed, tilt of the can, and the pressure on its cap that determine the width and density of the line.
Grouped within a fraternity or crew, artists must achieve a feat to be knighted by their peers and establish a rank.
From these selfless artistic jousts come varied-style paintings on all surfaces, from Figurative to Wild Style.
A sociological phenomenon, Graffiti allows for the recognition of one’s name in the heart of an impersonal city. The Art of Graffiti is not a movement of protest but of identification, both individual and collective.
The drive is strong to create the largest artworks on urban surfaces, true challenges to match their talent.
These artists exhibited their paintings as early as 1972 in New York galleries thanks to the UGA (Union of Graffiti Artists).
However, museum recognition did not materialize, and the general public, reassured in its judgment by the pressure of official critics and the absence of Graffiti in contemporary art fairs,
disparaged them.
