André Saraiva ( Monsieur André and Monsieur A) born 2 July 1971. Known mononymously as André, is a Swedish-French artist best known for his work in

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

. Amongst his creations is Mr. A which he has painted across all six inhabited continents. His work has been featured in museums such as the MoCA as in feature films such as

Exit Through the Gift Shop ''Exit Through the Gift Shop'' is a 2010 British documentary film directed by street artist Banksy. It tells the story of Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant in Los Angeles who, over the course of several years, filmed a host of street artists at ...

. As an entrepreneur, he owns restaurants, nightclubs such as Le Baron, and hotel chains such as Hotel Amour.

Early life

André Saraiva was born on 2 July 1971 in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, Sweden, where his Portuguese parents had fled the military regime of Salazar.Katell Pouliquen, " André, graffeur gâté ", ''L'Express'', November 1, 2004 His mother was a translator and his father was a painter. André moved to Paris at the age of 10, and started graffiti art at the age of thirteen.

Career

Artist

In 1986, André started tagging a top-hatted, stick figure character by the name of ''Mr. A'' on the streets of Paris, which earned him a reputation as a renowned graffiti artist. According to André, he has drawn approximately 300,000 Mr. A characters since the inception of his career. André has been globally recognized for his work with graffiti. In 1989, André Saraiva won a competition organized by the French magazine

L'Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

. His graffiti spanned of spray paint and stencils, which was selected among 25 other projects. He was featured on the cover of No. 2001 issue of L'Express. In 1997, he sold his paintings in a shop in Paris, from which he was spotted by Japanese patrons that brought him to the art scene of Tokyo. André Saraiva, Untitled

André's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums. In 2002, he opened the concept store "BlackBlock" in Paris at

Palais de Tokyo The Palais de Tokyo (''Tokyo Palace'') is a building dedicated to modern and contemporary art, located at 13 avenue du Président-Wilson, facing the Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The eastern wing of the building belongs to ...

; a creation around which he organized concerts, parades and other performances, and whose profits were reinvested in new projects art. In 2010, André appeared in Banksy's documentary

. In 2011, he participated in MoCA Los Angeles' Art in the Streets exhibition. The same year, his work was also displayed at the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

, Paris and the 54th

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. In 2014, a solo retrospective dedicated to his work was held at the Museu do Design e da Moda in Lisbon. André Saraiva, Pink

Entrepreneur

He has been commissioned to design luxury consumer goods, including goods made by

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

Bally Shoe Bally is a Swiss luxury fashion house, established in 1851 by Carl Franz Bally and his brother Fritz in Schönenwerd, Solothurn, as Bally & Co. Historically known for its shoes, the house also specializes in bags, accessories, and ready-to-wear ...

Tiffany & Co Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watc ...

Sonia Rykiel Sonia Rykiel (; ; 25 May 1930 – 25 August 2016) was a French fashion designer and writer. She created the Poor Boy Sweater, which was featured on the cover of French ''Elle'' magazine. Her knitwear designs and new fashion techniques led her t ...

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Off-White Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme or yellow that looks like brown. In color theo ...

and

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

. His likeness has been featured in global marketing campaigns. Besides being a graffiti artist, André has served as the creative director and owner of clubs, hotels and restaurants in Paris, Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, New York City, Shanghai and St. Tropez. Pink André

From 2011 to 2015 he was the creative director for

L'Officiel ''L'Officiel'' () is a French fashion magazine with a USA edition. It has been published in Paris since 1921 and targets upper-income, educated women aged from 25 to 49. In 2006, it had a circulation of 101,719. A men's edition of ''L'Officiel'', ' ...

, a French fashion magazine. In April 2020, André unveiled a collaboration with OnePlus, creating customized cases for the

OnePlus 8 OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro are Android-based smartphones manufactured by OnePlus, unveiled on April 14, 2020. They became available for purchase in the United States on April 29, 2020. Specifications Hardware Both the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro use ...

series.

Conviction for Vandalism of Joshua Tree National Park

On 1 April 2015 André was fined for

vandalizing Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

a boulder in

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to t ...

, California.Spiers, Katherine (April 15, 2015
"Artist "Mr. Andre" Pays Fine For Vandalizing Joshua Tree National Park."
KCET. org. (Retrieved Apr 16, 2015.) André posted photos of the graffiti on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, and the website

Modern Hiker Casey Schreiner is an American author and outdoor journalist. He runs the site Modern Hiker, where he writes trail guides on various hiking routes in Southern California. His blog is one of the most popular hiking blogs in the United States, ranki ...

and its readers aided the National Park Service in tracking down and identifying André's defacing of the boulder. Before the conviction, André attempted to silence the reporting with legal threats.

Personal life

André was formerly married to French/American electro musician

Uffie Anna-Catherine Hartley (born December 9, 1987), known professionally as Uffie (), is an American-French singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ, and fashion designer formerly signed to French electronic music record label Ed Banger Records. Uffie's music ...

between 2008 and 2009.

Filmography

*Cazals "Somebody Somewhere (Official Music Video), (2008) directed by André, starring Lou Doillon *''The Shoe'' (2011), directed by André *''Deadliest Catch'' (2012) directed by André *''New York La La La'' (2013) directed by André and Aaron Rose, for L'Officiel Hommes *TV Baby "Wild Joy" (Official Music Video), (2013) directed by André *''Last Night at the Chelsea Hotel'' (2013), directed by André *''Rendez-Vous au Club Swan'' (2015), directed by André Saraiva, featuring

Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...

and Derek Blasberg André is also an actor, known for ''For Lovers Only'' (2011) and ''Hora Sagrada'' (2007).

References

External links

lovegraffiti.comThe Hole GalleryEkosystem Gallery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andre 1971 births Living people French graffiti artists French people of Portuguese descent Swedish people of Portuguese descent People from Uppsala