UPAW 2021 was held on the dam of the Port Hercule in Monaco from July 4th to 8th. This year, we proudly raised 45,000 Euros for the FPA2 to fund their initiative, the Monk Seal Alliance, in favor of the protection of monk seals in the Mediterranean Sea. The artists had the opportunity to showcase their talents in a unique setting while supporting once again the Planet's preservation, as the theme for this year was "The Planet and its Colors".
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Olivier Wenden, vice-President of the FPA2, mentioned: "we really need to find disruptive solutions to preserve the environment today. Creating a link between Art and the planet's preservation, like UPAW is able to achieve year after year, is important to raise awareness among the general public.
ANDREA RAVO MATTONI NADIB BANDI
MICHAEL BEERENS MANOMATIC MISTERPIRO CHICADANIA
PEZ
JACQUES SCHNEIDER CACAO ROCKS
MR ONE TEAS
TONES ONE EDK
Andrea Ravo Mattoni (Italy)
Ravo's interest for classical art, along with his family's legacy traditions and academic studies, leads him to the restoration of classicism in contemporary art in 2016.
"My concept of street art is a tribute to my origins and my land. A very strong recognition of the great paintings from the past and of everything that is at the base of our visual culture. I have to pursue this project vigorously. I would like to convey a message of reculturization, of hope and beauty."
The emerging utopia is one of an open-air art gallery of paintings that so far have only been exhibited and "enclosed" in some of the greatest museums of the world.
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Follow him here: @andrea_ravo_mattoni
NADIB BANDI (France)
Nadib is a French artist, originally from Geneva, who works in Paris. Originating from the graffitti movement of the 90s, he himself describes his work as contemporary abstract graffitti or futuristic post-graffitti. Like many artists of his generation, he began practicing graffitti in railway stations.
Now, after over 20 years, he has acquired a certain artistic expertise with his installations, paintings, murals, drawings and editing work.
Follow him here: @nadib_bandi
MICHAEL BEERENS (France)
Born in 1984, Michael Beerens lives and works in the Parisian area. His work pairs both of his passions, art and the underwater world. He starts painting graffitti in the streets as a teenager in the 90's. During a trip, he discovers diving and growing up he will develop a passion for both of these activities. At 24, he becomes a diver to embrace a career as a professional underwater videographer.
At the same time, he starts painting in the street. His passion for the underwater world gives him a special sensitivity to nature and animals, which becomes his work's main theme.
He has accomplished multiple projects in favor of the environment throughout the years like Modern Fables, Deeplight, and today he has joined the association Depth Guards and gets involved as much as he can through awareness-raising workshops in schools or through charity events.
Follow him here: @michaelbeerens
CHICADANIA (Colombia)
Chicadania was born in Paris in 1978. Of Colombian descent, she spent the first years of her life in France before moving to back Colombia with her parents. She has acquired multiple degrees in Art: she studied Art the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotà, Colombia, at the University of Barcelona (UB), and obtained a diploma in Artistic Direction from the Elisava de Barcelona School as well as a Masters degree in Contemporary Culture at the University of Catalunya University (UOC). During her first years experimenting, she adopts the kitsch style, typical of Colombian culture, and practices with different types of materials, props and colors.
She then learns about bronze foundry in Europe, which sparks her passion for sculpture. In 2016, she participates to the second Ciudad Mural event in Madrid, where she makes a mural for the first time. Since then, she developped a passion for painting realist portraits in the streets, mainly of her children. She defines herself as a creator who never stops discovering. Sculpture and street art integrate in one artist: two worlds, two dimensions, two intentions.
Follow her here: @chicadania
MANOMATIC (Spain)
Manomatic (1982) is a visual artist linked to the graffiti world and urban art. In 1998 he starts dedicating himself to artistic creations as a self-taught artist who discovered the graffiti world thanks to friends in Andalusia. He then completed a course for senior image technician and a course for senior sound technician in 2002 and 2004. He then completes a training as a graphic assistant to improve his skills on a technological level. He currently makes murals as well as canvas paintings.
Since 2010, he has an open-air urban art museum in the historic district of the city of Huelva, showcasing his own graffiti art on the city walls. He also regularly participates to street art festivals.
Follow him here: @manomatic_official
MISTER PIRO (Spain)
Mister Piro is a visual and urban artist. He is a graduate of the Complutense university of Madrid, where he is based. His artistic career started through graffitis in the street, and his style was later complete by watercolor and acrylic in his workshop. He was able to combine these two contrasting styles, which gives him a very unique style, vibrant and colorful, embracing a palette that goes from the warmest reds, to the most electric blues.
He brings the delicacy of watercolor to street walls, where the outdoors give him a new canvas, far removed from the paper on which he creates his most delicate work.
His technique is based on improvisation, combining more aggressive spray paint sand delicate watercolors on different surfaces. The fluidity of water and the volatility of the atmosphere fill his art wiht light and expression, creating a wolrd that takes us from figurative to total abstract.
Follow him here: @misterpiro
CACAO ROCKS (Greece)
Yassonas Megoulas (or Cacao Rocks), son of the sculptor Georges Megoulas, was born in Athens in 1985. He started experimenting with graffiti at just 12 years old and is active on the street art scene since 1999. He studied French literature at the University of Athens and at the University of Angers in France. He then studied at the focus school of Photography thanks to a scholarship that he obtained by winning the art video contest "Shoot It" (2011).
His work has been exhibited in various foundations and museums around the world, such as the Onassis Cultural Center and the Salomon Arts Gallery NY.
His art and work have been covered by international media outlets such as The New York Times, National Geographic, the BBC, and The Guardian. He has also been invited by multiple universities and organizations to hold conferences and workshops in Greece and the United States (University of Michigan, TedX, the Onassis Foundation etc.)
His artistic techniques vary a lot, for example painting, sculpture, installations, video art, and performances. He has also created artwork for international brands.
Follow him here: @cacaorocks
TONES (Switzerland)
Born in Geneva, TONES has nurtured a very pronounced taste for drawing since his childhood. He was first attracted by the graphic illustrative style inspired by comic books, and then discovered graffiti only in the year 2000 after a decisive meeting with graffiti artist Rey. He therefore focused on this new form of expression, directly inspired by traditional New York style, and gradually asserted himself as a writer (graffiti artist/painter).
A Letter Technician and "Style" disciple, his signature is to make letters dance through complex connections and daring curves, all while following the New York style code.
Another specialty of his work is to embellish his lettering with illustrative elements by subtly mixing "cartoonism" and graphic style, as well as to interact with the environment in which he paints. This close combination enables him to create a link between himself and the walls of the city in which he paints, thus creating custom work according to the location. By mixing realism and graphics, he invites the audience inside a fictitious universe, playful, sometimes quirky, but always high colorful.
Follow him here: @tonesrock
PEZ (Spain)
PEZ, José Sabaté, started tagging in Barcelona in 1999. He quickly realizes that he can convey good vibes and positivity to passersby in the streets of Barcelona thanks to his character (el pez, or the fish). After a few years, he starts traveling around the world to paint, and adopts the universal language of Smiling, with which he reaches the entire public.
The ever-smiling fish is present in all his art pieces, made with strong colors and positivity, a ride full of joy that goes from classic graffitti to experimental pop art.
These past few years, PEZ has not stopped traveling, painting, and exhibiting his work in galleries all over the world.
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He is an essential reference all over the world when it comes to urban art all. His work is featured in some of the most important street art books, such as "Street Logos" or "The art of Rebellion". It is important to highlighted that he also appeared in Banksy's movie "Exit through the gift shop"and his collaboration with brands like Adidas, Toyota, Reebok, Ecko Ultd. His work has been sold by the best auction houses in France such as Tajan, Art Curial, Blancs Manteaux, Auguttes.
Pez loved UPAW so much in 2021 that he asked to come back to participate a second time this year.
Follow him here: @pezbarcelona
JACQUES SCHNEIDER
(Luxemburg)
Jacques Schneider is an artist/activist from Luxembourg comitted to humanist values.
"Living together, building a common future, cordial relations and starting over again is our destiny... nothing is certain, the extreme fragility of the balance that unites us must make us wonder about the importance and the rola that each of us plays in the creation of a better future, with more equality between people. The one condition to get closer to lasting global peace. It is in this context that I imagine, draw, and paint my art. "
Whether they are pictorial, photographix, textile, his creations are a gateway to others, a hyphen between people, an open door.
He favors equality, the preservation of nature and tradition, the transmission of our culture and know-how, while respecting values such as short-circuits, the use of ethical raw materials, vegan, with the Fairwear or Fairtrade labels.
Follow him here: @jacques_scheneider
MR. ONE TEAS (Monaco)
Mr. OneTeas started graffiti in 2005. Self-taught, he develops his style through travels, meetings and exchanges, leaving his mark on the streets of major international cities. His work focuses on planned obsolescence by giving another life to materials and consumer objects of the past while illustrating the evils of our society. He draws his inspiration from the media, political and cultural environments. By diverting images and the news, he offers us his critical vision of society, marked by humour and originality.
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In 2019, he produced his first museum retrospective at the Galerie Lympia, a former prison in Nice, with the exhibition “Reality Show 2.0” dealing with various ills of current society, by putting the viewer face to face with many excesses of our reality.
Follow him here: @mroneteas