‘Zayn 5’ (detailed view), Gaël Froget.

Miaja Gallery will be presenting ‘Vandalise This’ from 10 February to 29 April 2017. The exhibition challenges the status-quo of graffiti as vandalism by bringing together two artists known for their use of bold colour and liberated painting styles – French-Mauritian artist Gaël Froget, and Paris-based Japanese artist Yoshi Itu’.

Gaël Froget is an artist sitting on the fence between pop art and primitivism. He paints and vandalises to create unique, grotesque and sarcastic artworks that clearly bares his identity. Since his first solo exhibition in 2013, Gaël has built a solid reputation in Mauritius and made his way in the local art community and has gained recognition and respect as one of the most promising Mauritian artists of the new generation. He uses a mix of acrylic, spray paint, collage, digital printing and other techniques that adds an urban touch to his artworks. He says that his style has been much influenced by artists like Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat and the current generation of street artists.

Yoshi Itu’s Installation.

Yoshi Itu is an advocate of ‘wearable art’: a middle point between art and fashion by taking clothing and accessories as canvases. By harbouring the full powers of philosophy and art energy on these fashion items, he brings art into an everyday routine, making the life of the purchaser (collector) more prosperous – that is his concept. As a connoisseur, he likes to work with noble materials. His favourite canvases include the classic suit, smoking jacket and morning coat, to which he brings his touch of originality and his sensitivity by adding shapes and colours. Not only is he constantly looking for irreproachable quality in the materials his canvases are made, he also likes to play upon the notion of contraries. He works between the extreme classicism of clothes and accessories, and this new and contemporary energy that he expresses through paint.

About the exhibition, Gallery Director Naomi Stahl says, “Through a showcase of various works of graffiti art, ‘Vandalise This’ explores the fine lines that are drawn between destruction and design, suppression and self-expression, defacing and beautifying, provoking a dialogue between the attraction of opposites and their juxtaposing taboos.”

*For more information, please visit www.miajagallery.com.

This article was first published in Art Republik.