The collective of Parisian graffiti artists VLP creates a fresco in the Beaubourg center

From the shadow to the light

Pillars of the graffiti and street-art movement in France, the VLP (Vive La Peinture) collective was founded in 1983 by Michel Espagnon (Fine Arts, Paris) and Jean Gabaret (Saint Charles University, Paris).

After meeting in a rock evening in the heart of the Parisian catacombs, the two artists join forces to paint together and invest the palisades of work sites of Trou des Halles and Beaubourg, using bombs and industrial paints, with colorful characters full of meaning.

Because these two young artists want above all that their works give food for thought, often echoing the history of art and place painting as the flagship material of their activity.

Today, they still work, exhibit their work in art galleries and also perform. Like Zuman Kojito, their emblematic character, their works on various themes are often loaded with humor, and questions the passerby about his person and the world in which he evolves.

30 years after their debut in the same district, the two artists will create a 108 m² fresco on the wall of a building opposite the Beaubourg center, at the corner of rue Quincampoix and rue Aubry le Boucher, in full heart of Paris.

The fresco, produced on two adjoining gables, takes on the characters of the Collective, including the Zuman emblem of the duo. Far from being an outcome, "[...] this fresco is the continuity of our work", specifies Michel Espagnon.

A fresco, a multitude of characters

The gable of rue Aubry le Boucher presents a moving Zuman. He appears to be dancing, guitar in hand, free to move, just like the snake and the dog that accompany him. The character quotes, in a bubble "This is not graffiti", which actually makes a double wink. The first echoing Magritte and his painting "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" and which gives food for thought about art and its representativeness. The second wink is made directly to the work of the neighboring gable, which is much more than graffiti: a work on human freedom.

On the rue Quincampoix side, four characters loyal to the works of VLPs meet and gravitate on points of bright colors, dear to artists.

All these characters, worn by Zuman together symbolize the freedom of the human being, just like that of artists. Painting takes all its meaning and comes here to anchor the message of art in reality, to make itself accessible to all.

Zolpan is more than paint

Convinced by the project, it is above all its values ​​of freedom that pushed the Zolpan group to become a partner. For 50 years, Zolpan has been designing and manufacturing paints to protect, insulate and embellish collective and individual buildings, indoors and outdoors, both in new work and in renovation.

Zolpan is about 1 employees who put their expertise at the service of their professional and individual customers through a network of nearly 000 points of sale to provide the solutions most suited to their needs for successful high-quality projects.

The first paint manufacturer to obtain the Lucie Label for its commitment to sustainable development and corporate social responsibility, Zolpan carries the values ​​of equality and respect on a daily basis, not only for customers but also for its employees.

Being able to participate in the beautification of this wall near the Beaubourg Center is a kind of symbol for Zolpan, which works daily with its Research and Development department, to develop products for the protection and decoration of buildings. Zolpan would also like to thank Daniel Boulogne for his renewed confidence in this project, since he had already asked the Zolpan group for the creation of the monumental fresco by Jean-Marie Perret on the Cruas nuclear power plant (07).

www.zolpan.fr