Street Art Discoveries in Angers – Summer 2018

The new street art in Angers was such a lovely surprise this year! I have always seen the occasional work such as this beautiful blue rose and what I believe to be an opossum. However, their origins are unknown to me. After writing this post, I discovered another piece of street art while walking along the river Maine on the Quai des Carmes. Although I do not know its origin either, it is just another reason why I love Angers!

I love Angers

Échappées d’Art

Les Piliers de la rue Saint-Julien

I didn’t even realize that these pillars were street art until I found the brochure Échappées d’Art which was distributed by the city. I had only given them a passing glance, thinking they were tile-work. The brochure gives information on all the art.

This is the third summer that the city has supported this project of street art. The paintings were done between May and June and will remain through 16 September.
Arthur-Louis Ignoré (alias ALI), the painter, is interested in the historical architecture that surrounds him. These pillars reflect the Corinthian columns of times past.

The view down rue St Julian

OKUDA – The Apocalypse

Now for the magnificent piece of street art titled Apocalypse that first surprised us while on the tram. The Spanish artist who goes by OKUDA is the creator. This delightful piece is above the former Grignotine sandwhich shop whose little plaza faces the tramway in Angers. I remember it being a popular stop for both students and tourists alike when I was first here in 2011.

The Apocalypse, with the Tour St-Aubin in the background

I really love the way there seems to always be a reflection of this painting in the adjacent building!

“Sunset” – Abstract Street Art on l’Espine

This particular piece is by an Italian artist Tellas who is a native of Cagliari, in Sardinia. It is interesting and if you enjoy abstract art then you probably would like it more than I do. I prefer the piece of above with it bright colors on black. It simply captivates me so I’m glad to be able to see it each time I ride the tramway.

It took Tellas just three days (and buckets and buckets of paint) to create this piece of street art. We discovered this piece on rue de l’Espine here in Angers.

Dix Sections (Ten Sections)

Daniel Munoz, a Spanish artist, painted this piece of street art titled Dix Sections (Ten Sections). This piece of art is second only to the Apocalyspe above! It shows the various types of architecture here in Angers.

Forêt sensible et Enjambement

Hitnes is the Italian artist who painted the beautiful fresco on rue Cornet. It reminds me of the tapestries here in the Cathedral St Maurice and also those at the Musée Jean Lurcat here in Angers. Cleary we are looking at a forest scene, hence the title of Forêt Sensible (Sensitive Forest). I love the colors with the blues popping out of a background of burgundy. It is definitely an enjambment. Look closely and you will see the continuation of the flowers from the lower painting as they glide into the upper painting.

Forêt Sensible

Hitnes other painting is Enjambement. Just below the image is a time-lapse video of the painting in progress.

Enjambement

Eltono

To find the street art on the tram was also a surprise. Eltono is a Parisien who debuted his graffiti in Madrid in 1999.

VHILS – Scratching the Surface , Street Art

In high school and university, I took a few courses in drawing so this “pencil” sketch really speaks to me. High on a wall facing the river (and an empty parcel of land) this “sketch” is magnificent to see. The Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto (alias Vhils) used the inhabitiants of the neighborhood as his source of inspiration.

Scratching the Surface

Graffeurs d’ici et d’ailleurs (Graffiti artists from here and there)

Just a glimpse of this street art, or graffiti, is seen on the fence below Scratching the Surface in the image above. As it is at street level, this graffiti catches the eye long before Scratching the Surface does. Descend the tramway at Saint-Serges and look to the right – voila!

Les passants de la rue Cordelle

This little street, rue Cordelle, is perpendicular to the grand Place Ralliement where the tramway passes but I would wager to say that few tourists meander there. The artist is listed as Monsieur Hobz and his work is more a reflection of graffiti than a frescoe. It stretches at leats 2/3 the length of the street.

Most of the time it is the little black cloud that is shown when there is an article about this piece of art, but it is the little dog at the end of the painting that I like the best.

PAL’issade Jardin des Plantes

This piece of graffiti is hidden in a corner of the Jardin des Plantes. It was created by Fishbrain (a printing atelier in Angers) along with the students of the Lycé Saint-Aubin-la Salle and l’Ecole Superieure d’Arts Appliqués et de Design (EEGP). PAL’issade is an initiative of Panneaux Artistique Libres (free artistic panels – PAL’issade is a play on the word palissade  which is French for a picket fence.

Invader Pixel Street Art

Another one of the interesting pieces of street art I discovered is this pixel piece. This particular artist goes by the name Invader only. His work is found all over the world. The map on his site indicates that we might expect to find several when we visit Paris.

Miscellaneous Street Art Findings

Just below, hidden by a tree, the piece titled Dix Sections, we found this little piece of art. Perhaps the artist had the song A Force de Vivre in mind when they wrote this. I would roughly translate it as “By living enough, you get used to things.”

A Force de Vivre…..

This piece was also hidden behind a potted plant just in front of Collegiale St-Martin.

This street art for the Omega Society was found near the UCO campus (Université Catholique de l’Oeust)

Omega Society

Walking home from the tramway along rue Strasbourg today we discovered this humorous piece of art. There’s always one in every crowd.

rue Strasbourg sheep

It has taken several days with lots of interruptions to complete this post and virtually every day I found another piece of art to add to the post! Who knows what else may present itself!