André (artist)

André (aka Monsieur André and Monsieur A; born 2 July 1971 as André Saraiva) is a Swedish graffiti artist, hotelier, and restaurant operator.

André Saraiva was born on 2 July 1971 in Uppsala, Sweden, where his Portuguese parents had fled the military regime of Salazar. His mother was a translator and his father was a painter. André moved to Paris at the age of 10, and discovered graffiti at the age of thirteen.

In 1989, André started tagging a top-hatted, stick figure character by the name of Mr. A on the streets of Paris, which earned him a reputation as a renowned graffiti artist. According to André, he has drawn approximately 300,000 Mr. A characters since the inception of his career.

André has been globally recognized for his work with graffiti. In 1989, André Saraiva won a competition organized by the French magazine L'Express. His graffiti spanned 3.20 × 2.15 meters of spray paint and stencils, which was selected among 25 other projects. He was featured on the cover of No. 2001 issue of L'Express. In 1997, he sold his paintings in a shop in Paris, from which he was spotted by Japanese patrons that brought him to the art scene of Tokyo.

André's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums. In 2002, he opened the concept store "BlackBlock" in Paris at Palais de Tokyo ; a creation around which he organized concerts, parades and other performances, and whose profits were reinvested in new projects art. In 2010, André appeared in Banksy's documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. In 2011, he participated in MoCA Los Angeles' Art in the Streets exhibition. The same year, his work was also displayed at the Grand Palais, Paris and the 54th Venice Biennale. In 2014, a solo retrospective dedicated to his work was held at the Museu do Design e da Moda in Lisbon.

He has been commissioned to design luxury consumer goods, including goods made by Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Bally Shoe, Tiffany & Co, Sonia Rykiel, Levi's, Nike and Converse. His likeness has been featured in global marketing campaigns. ·  ·

...
Wikipedia