PWW 33

T he history of graffiti art may be entwined with trains and subways, but Christian Guémy doesn’t stop there. This major figure in street art, alias C215, prefers to do his stenciling and spray-painting on the walls of buildings, mailboxes, and other unconventional canvases in cities like Vitry-sur- Seine, Paris, London, and Tudela, Spain. C215’s colour-saturated portraits adorn everything from gallery walls to soccer balls, toilet paper rolls, a shoe’s sole, and a Geiger counter. In 2014, he painted a portrait of pioneering aviator Louis Blériot and his monoplane on the back of a bomber jacket to introduce his series of trailblazers in air and space. C215 will exhibit this series of 30 portraits for the first time in the streets, RER stations, and at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace of Le Bourget, home of the largest business airport in Europe, where Lindberg ended his crossing, for the occasion of its 100th anniversary. His distinctive style continues to “give those who are invisible the same status as celebrities.” In this treasure hunt you’ll find C215’s portraits of aviators Amelia Earhart, Maryse Bastié, Caroline Aigle, Charles Lindbergh, Roland Garros, Saint-Exupéry, and astronauts Valentina Terechkova, Thomas Pesquet, Yuri Gagarin, and Neil Armstrong. u C hristophe J acquet C215/LA LÉGENDE DES CIEUX, du 25 septembre au 25 mars/Sept. 25-March 25. Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace. Aéroport Paris-Le Bourget, 3, esplanade de l’Air- et-de-l’Espace, Le Bourget (93) (0149927000, museeairespace.fr). Et dans les rues du Bourget. c215.fr

Une fresque pour Paris-Orly

Héros du street art, C215 est formel : « L’aéroport est un formidable terrain de jeu pour un créateur. » C’est sans doute pourquoi il a parrainé le premier concours lancé sur Instagram par Paris Aéroport. Parmi 80 dossiers, la société exploitante des aéroports parisiens a ainsi pu déceler le jeune artiste qui va habiller la coursive de débarquement à Orly 4. Début juillet, le graffeur franco-espagnol Bebar s’est imposé devant Brian Caddy et Fimo. Dès cet automne, sa fresque évoquant Paris, ses monuments et ses emblèmes, va accompagner les voyageurs d’Orly 4 sur plus de 80 mètres de long. A fresco for Orly. “Airports are great playgrounds for artists,” says celebrated street artist C215, who sponsored the first Instagram Paris Aéroport competition to select a young artist from among 80 contestants to embellish the landing gangway at Orly 4. In early July, Franco-Spanish graffiti artist Bebar prevailed over Brian Caddy and Fimo. His 80-m (262-ft) fresco, which adopts

Paris’ monuments and icons, will accompany travellers at Orly 4 starting this Fall.

Louis Blériot, autre « légende de l’air » qui a inspiré C215. Louis Blériot, another “legend of the sky” inspiring C215.

59 - PARIS WORLDWIDE SEPTEMBRE / OCTOBRE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

2019