French street artist Sebastien “Mr. D 1987” Boileau follows his creative compass due nostalgia in his new exhibition “Frenchies & Friends.” Known for creating the Biscuit Paint Wall among other massive murals in Houston, Mr. D 1987 is reimagining iconic American and French cartoon characters at Alliance Francaise.
“I started graffiti when I was 14 years old, and part of the graffiti culture is using cartoons,” Mr. D 1987 says. “You take them and you make them your own. You mess with them.”
The muralist reveals that Alliance Francaise, a major French cultural hub, gave him “carte blanche” when collaborations began for the exhibit which opens on Thursday, October 31. One painting joins his French roots with his Houston home as Mr. D 1987 depicts his childhood favorite comic book characters Asterix and Obelix holding up a NASA space shuttle and a cowboy hat. Another painting of Minnie Mouse and Smurfette, mere moments from kissing atop a combined LGBTQ+ Pride and American flag truly encapsulates his pop art background.
Spray Painting Outside the Lines
As Mr. D 1987 does not limit himself to a particular style, some skeptics may doubt he designed all of the works in the solo exhibition. From collages of vintage Marlboro Man ads to a cheekily re-conceptualized painting of Pepé Le Pew, Mr. D 1987 focuses on putting his own satirical spin on these cultural artifacts.
“People like to box you in — I call that the Tupperware mentality,” Mr. D 1987 says. “People like to know where you fit in, where you belong. I’ve always pushed myself to be different and not really care what people think.”
Regardless of the medium, Mr. D 1987 prefers to let viewers interpret each of the works in their own way, hoping the satirical elements speak for themselves. Curious attendees will be able to ask the artist about his intentions directly on opening night, and each Saturday of the exhibition from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m for “Meet the Artist Saturdays.” On November 16, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Texan French Alliance for the Arts (TFAA) will host an artist panel at Alliance Francaise featuring Mr. D 1987 in a discussion about mural art with Glassell School of Art’s chair of art history Anna Tahinci and editor of Art Houston magazine John Bernhard, moderated by Yvonamor Palix, the international art curator and arts program director for TFAA.
“I’ve learned over the years that people will look at your work and have their own experience, based on their own lives and preferences,” Mr. D 1987 notes. “Whenever I do a mural, I leave it in the street. That’s it. My job is done.”
Creating Sustainably
Several of the paintings in “Frenchies & Friends” are made from used spray paint cans, an effort on Mr. D 1987’s part to incorporate sustainable practices into his work. The process of transforming spray paint cans into metal sheets for paintings can be time consuming and labor intensive. Mr. D 1987 says after finishing a paint can, he must drain them of leftover paint and gas before carving them up.
Hundreds of stacks of small metal sheets fill his Midtown-based studio, which he and his assistants painstakingly sort by color after finishing each can.
“It feels good to me to know that we’re making more artwork with the medium, the product, instead of just putting them in trash cans and landfills,” Mr. D 1987 says.
In addition to creating new artworks with this sustainable approach, Mr. D 1987 preserves his murals by making versions of his street art on canvases with the deconstructed paint cans.
“Everything we do as street and mural artists disappears,” Mr. D 1987 says. “I’m from France and I had this guy come in 2011 to do a documentary on my work and everything I had done there at that point was gone.”
Attendees of the opening night celebration on this Thursday, October 31, at 6 p.m. will have the chance to leave their mark on Alliance Francaise de Houston with the artist as part of a live activation graffiti activity.
Mr. D 1987’s “Frenchies & Friends” will be on view at Alliance Francaise de Houston from Thursday, October 31 through Saturday, December 14, the same day as Alliance Francaise’s Christmas Market.
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