Birth Date: | 1976 |
Birth Place: | Bogota |
Awards: | Ordre des Arts et des Lettres |
Website: | https://www.chanoir1980.com/ |
Chanoir, also known as Alberto Vejarano, is a contemporary French-Colombian street artist born in 1976 in Bogota.[1]
His nickname is a reference to a poster of the famous Parisian cabaret Le Chat Noir, by Théophile Steinlen.
Chanoir became active in the streets of Barcelona at the beginning of Y2K, where he did the documentary Murs Libres. In 2002, he became the founder of Collectif 1980 with other artists such as Jean-Philippe Illanes, Alexandre Sirvin, Hugo Garcia, et Ernest Añaños Montoto.
His father, Gustavo Vejerano, is a painter.
His colored figures take their roots in the ligne claire and cartoon style. Chanoir gets his inspiration from his childhood in the 80s: the simple lines of Barbapapa, the craziness of Les Shadoks and naïve mangas for kids such as Hello Kitty.
Artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat or Keith Haring are obvious references too.
Amongst his most notable commercial work are:
Murs libres, a documentary about the street art crew of Barcelona with Jean-Michel Alberola[3]