Blek le Rat
Great Tango, 2011
Acrylic and aerosol paint on linen
79 x 107"
Blek le Rat (born Xavier Prou in 1952, Paris), recognized as the pioneer of Paris street art, has been painting committed pieces in the streets since the early eighties. He is often described as “the father of stencil graffiti.”
When Blek le Rat visited New York in 1972 this was the very first time he had ever seen graffiti in his life. When he came back to France with colorful graffiti images in mind, Blek enrolled at Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris. He started stenciling the walls of Paris in 1981 – when street painting had not yet become associated with criminal activity – spray-painting small black rats running along the walls of the fourteenth Arrondissement. To him, the rat symbolized both freedom and the dissemination of art through the city as if it were the plague. He described the rat as “the only free animal in the city”, and one which “spreads the plague everywhere, just like street art”.
He chose the pseudonym Blek le Rat in reference to an Italian comic book Blek le Roc, using rat as an anagram for art. Throughout the 1980s, Blek’s art developed from small pieces into life-size characters like the representation of famous Andy Warhol, Tom Waits, Jesus Christ, and a portrait of Blek le Rat himself. The use of stencils allows him the opportunity for endless reproduction.
In 1991, Blek le Rat was arrested for painting in the street. After this, in order to be quicker and avoid being re-arrested, the artist started pasting up pre-stenciled posters. Among his famous posters is a self-portrait of the artist himself with the body of Buster Keaton, the artist’s favorite actor, depicting as a traveling man carrying suitcases. Originally created in 2004 for a trip in London which was pasted-up in London, New York, Prague, Buenos Aires, Taipei, Leipzig, Berlin, and more recently in Munich in 2016, making it Blek’s most traveled character.
Even though Blek le Rat has expressed a preference for working in the streets over galleries, he has held numerous exhibitions throughout the world and has participated in various street art festivals. His work has influenced and inspired many stencil artists like American artist Swoon. He is also the one who inspired elusive British artist Banksy - especially his painting of stenciled rats.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016
Propaganda. Wunderkammern. Milan Italy
The Man Who Walks Through the Walls. Galerie Kronsbein. Munich, Germany
2015
Your Kids Can’t Do This. Curated by Luke Cornish. Ambush Gallery. Sydney, Australia
2014
Escaping Paris. Curated by DK Johnston. The Quin Hotel. New York, NY
2013
Ignorance is Bliss. Jonathan LeVine Gallery. New York, NY
2012
Blek Le Rat. Opera Gallery. London, UK.
2009
Blek Le Rat. Metro Gallery. Australia. 2008 Paris—NY, NY—Paris. Jonathan LeVine Gallery. New York, NY
2008
Art Is Not Peace But War. Subliminal Projects Gallery. Los Angeles, CA.
Blek le Rat // Life Before Banksy… KunsTachometer. Palma de Mallorca
Blek Le Rat Retrospective. Black Rat Gallery. London, UK.
2006
Blek Le Rat in London. Leonard Street Gallery. London, UK.
2002
Blek Was Here. Urban Art Gallery. Berlin, Germany. (first exhibition since 1993)
1993
Grafitti in the Castle. Castle Paul Ricard. Paul Ricard, France.
1991
Blek le Rat from Paris to Tokyo. Takarashi Gallery. Tokyo, Japan.
Stencils on Wood. Galerie Christophe. Paris, France.
Exhibition Schabonen Graffiti Blek le Rat. Ephemere Gallery. Leipzig, Germany.
Performance. Concert Hall of Elysée Monmarte. Paris
1990
Permanent Exhibition. Galerie Christophe. Paris, France.
Installation. Galerie Patrick Riquelme. Vannes, France.
1989
Installation. Huber Volker Gallery. Lisbon, Portugal.
1988
Exhibition. French Institute of Mainz. Mainz, Germany.
Nuit du Palace. Le Palace. Paris, France.
1987
Performance. Salon du Livre. Sainte-Etienne, France.
1986
Installation. Forum of Rock. Montreuil, France.
1985
Peinture Sauvage. Galerie Saint Claude. Paris, France.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016
Sons of Pompeii. Gregorio Escalante Gallery. Los Angeles, CA
2015
Urban Patriot. Reem Gallery. Camberley, UK
URBANPOTT. 44309 Street Art Gallery. Dortmund, Germany
Oh, The Places We Have Been: Rediscovering the Past. Jonathan LeVine Gallery. New York, NY
Sleeping Beauty. Magda Danysz Gallery. Paris, France
2013
America’s Finest (and Others). Belgrave Gallery. St. Ives Cornwall, England
Writing’s on the Wall. Metro Gallery. Australia.
2012
Off The Wall. Contemporary Wing. Washington, DC
Stock Show. Metro Gallery. Australia.
Graff the Peace! Opera Gallery. Paris
Arts & Toys- Collection Selim Varol. Me Collectors Room. Berlin, Germany
Black’ n White. Galerie Kasten. Mannheim, Germany
Look Closer. Warrington Museum and Art Gallery. Warrington, England
Streets of the World. Opera Gallery. New York, NY
2011
Paris Forever 100th Exhibition. Madga Danysz Gallery. Paris, France
Late to Dinner. Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art. Culver City, CA
Outside: Urban Street Group Exhibition. 34 Fine Art. Cape Town, South Africa
Street Art- Contemporary Prints. Galerie Kasten. Mannheim, Germany
Urban Art Show 2011. Belgrave Gallery St. Ives. St. Ives Cornwall, England
Shadows and Reflections. Madga Danysz Galerie. Paris, France
2010
Winter Group Show. White Walls Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Never Judge…? Stolenspace Gallery. London, England
Street and Studio- Von Basquiat bis Seripop. Kunsthalle Wien. Vienna, Austria
Street Smarts. Affirmation Arts. New York, NY
Fourth Element II. The Watermill. Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland
Blek le Rat & Above. White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Girls, Girls, Girls. Signal Gallery. London, England
Five Year Anniversary. Jonathan LeVine Gallery. New York, NY
Wreck the Walls. Subliminal Projects. Los Angeles, CA
Friends with Knives. Crewest Gallery. Los Angeles. CA
Faces in the Mirror. White Walls Gallery. San Francisco, CA
Looking East. Yves Laroche Galerie d’art. Montreal, QC, Canada
On the Wall: International Street Art Group Show. Metro Gallery. Australia.
2009
From Style Writing to Art. 18Galelry Shanghai- Bund18, Shanghai
108 Christmas Exhibition- Little Pictures. 108Fineart. Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
The Northern Art Fair. 108Fineart. Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
Installation Five. Anno Domini. San Jose, CA
Blue Print for Space for Art Basel 2009. Art Center. South Florida, Miami Beach
Whole in the Wall. Helenback Gallery, New York, NY
2008
Off the Wall- From Vandalism to Urban Art. Wilde Gallery. Berlin, Germany
Apocalyptic Colors. Galerie Gabriele Senn. Vienna, Austria
The Cans Festival. The Cans Festival. London, England
Titanium Expose. Fecal Face Dot Gallery. San Francisco, CA
2007
Streets of Europe. Jonathan LeVine Gallery. New York, NY
White Noise. Black Rat Press. London, UK
2006
11 Spring Street. Curated by Marc & Sara Schiller of Wooster Collective. New York, NY
2005
Urban Wallpaper. Taipei Artist Village. Taipei, Taiwan
2003
Workshop in The Open City: Models For Use. Kokerein Zollverein. Essen, Germany.
2002
Blek Was Here. Urban Art Gallery. Berlin, Germany
Installation with Lee Quineones. Reitschule. Bern, Switzerland.
1993
La Belle et la Bête. Galerie Arnaud Brument. Paris, France.
1992
L’Art Vif, la Revue Parlée. Centre George Pompidou. Paris, France.
L’Art Vif. Espace Carnot. Lille, France.
Un Regard sur l’Art. Musée Creusot. Creusot, France.
Fin de Millenaire. Espace Belleville CTFD. Paris, France.
Graffiti in Cavern. Galerie Le Cailar. Le Cailar, France.
1991
Street Art. Globus Gallery. Leipzig, Germany.
1989
Les Rencontres de Marrakech. French Institute of Marrakech. Marrakech, Morocco.
And der Wand (On the Wall). Kunstverein Wiesbaden. Wiesbaden, Germany.
Schablonen Graffti (Stencil Graffiti). Kunstverein Heildelberg. Heildelberg, Germany.
Schablonen Graffiti (Stencil Graffiti). Gemeentemuseum. Helmond, Netherlands.
Cannes Biennial. Palais des Festivals Cannes. Cannes, France.
Art Urbain (Urban Art). Hotel de Ville Buffemont. Val d’Oise, France.
1988
Graffiti in the Street, Exhibition in the Institute. French Institute of Naples. Naples, Italy.
Histoire des Rockers. La Villete. Paris, France.
Shadow and Light. Lara Vinci Gallery. Paris, France.
1987
Musée International de Graf. Galerie L’Autre Rive. Paris, France.
1986
Pochoirs (Stencils). Agnes B Gallery. Paris, France.
Emotion. Ministry of Culture. Saint Quentin, France.
Stencil Graffiti in Tulles. Peuple et Culture. Tulles, France.
Urban Art Show. Galerie Jean Marc Patras. Paris, France.
In Between Out. Palais des Papes. Avignon, France.
Verbes d’Êtats. Centre National des Arts Plastique. Nice, France.
1985
Les Artistes au Telephone. Galerie Pierre Lescot. Paris, France.
Affiches Detrounees. National Center of Contemporary Art. Paris, France
Frescoes on Walls. French Ministry of Culture. Paris, France.
