Ewen Gur

Artist Statement: Ewen Gur is a French artist with German roots, who grew up in the surroundings of Tours (Indre-et-Loire, France), a region well-known for its castles and its “art de vivre”. He started drawing at a very early age, mostly inspired by video games and French comics from the likes of Francis le Blaireau (Claire & Jake), Gai-Luron, and La Rubrique-à-brac (Marcel Gotlib) or Gaston Lagaffe (Franquin). As far as he can remember, he was always attracted by soft outlines and storytelling.  As a teenager, Ewen attended comics master classes with local artists for several years, improving his technique and learning from them. He contributed to a local magazine, «Dynamite comics». At school he even gave little master classes to his friends, for fun. After graduating in art, Ewen spent some more years studying and trying different mediums of expression, from commercial design to jazz music, searching for new fields to explore. Ewen always felt a need to do his own thing, to be an artist, but he didn’t settle on one specific medium. He played in various rock bands as a bass player at night, and did the posters and flyers for their gigs during the day. As a former jazz and rock musician, he knew how to sketch the everyday life of a band. In 2006, Ewen found an old canvas left to rot, and started painting on it, with homemade tools and some paint found here and there. It was the start of a serious relationship. After showing his work around the Loire Valley, organizing and taking part in local exhibitions, it was time to follow the way of the famous street artists who had influenced him (Keith Haring, Basquiat, etc.), and to give his career a big turn in the big city. He ended up choosing Berlin, the well-known young and hip capital of Germany. A perfect choice given his German roots, and the perfect place to start a real career. His artistic originality needed such a creative place to thrive, and it influenced his style with street art, new illustration styles, fashion, outsider art, beer, and strange people. Ewen’s art is focused on black outlines; it’s very detailed and always in search of the perfect curve (the perfect “groove”, as he likes to call it), but it still looks deceptively simple. Another aspect of his art is the use of bright colors to give a ”rock’n’roll” touch to his work, and to serve as a reminder of the energy transported by the music he likes to listen to. A work by Ewen is like a typical Berlin party, it always intertwines several artistic mediums: it’s a painting with its own music score and its own dance rhythm. Music plays a large part in his creative process; it is a source of ideas and energy for Ewen, and he enjoys reproducing on canvas its inner life and rhythms – so it’s no wonder that many of his pieces bear the names of songs. Ewen is interested in new forms of figurative expressions. His line is soft and effective, a mix between figuration as you can find in comics, and abstract elements. His paintings never lack humor, and that's the message: don’t be so serious, breathe, enjoy life and be rock’n’roll. Ewen's work depicts an urban world no longer aware of its limits, and leading itself to catastrophe. He describes the drifts and aberrations of consumerism in a humorous way, and paints the destructive foolishness of busy people addicted to fast food and smartphones. Like a child, he is fascinated by the gigantic verticality and absurdity of our world. Ewen lives and works in Berlin, and continues to spread his motto: do your own thing, have fun – and let’s rock! Education: - 2019 > 2020 - UX & UI DESIGN CERTIFICATION (CareerFoundry, Berlin (Germany) - 2002 > 2004 - BTS VISUAL COMMUNICATION AND MULTIMEDIA  (Lycée Charles de Gaulle, Chaumont, France) ?- 1999 > 2002 - BACHELOR OF APPLIED ART (Lycée Choiseul, Tours, France) Awards & Distinctions: 2012 > PREMIUM WINDOW DRESSER AWARD- First Prize - decorating the shop windows at Galeries Lafayette Berlin- Berlin, Allemagne Exhibitions: 2022 Berlin Calling (solo) | La Grange, Luynes (FR)  2021 Helden der Kindheit (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE)  2020 Fantomas und Irma Vep (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Please drive my car (coll) | JRGallery, Berlin (DE) Liebesgrüße aus Paris (solo) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Through the keyhole (coll) | JRGallery, Berlin (DE)  2019 Animals (coll) | JRGallery, Berlin (DE) Toni, what? (coll) | Kick off Gallery, Berlin (DE)  2018 Thank you for the music (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Affordable Art Fair Hamburg (coll) | JRGallery, Berlin (DE) Inside // Out there (coll) | JRGallery, Berlin (DE) 40 Jahre Raab Galerie (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Stille aus Farben gebaut (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Zirkus (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) It might get loud (solo) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) ? 2017 ?Today at Apple - Zeichensafaris (solo) | Berlin Store Kurfürstendamm (DE) History of Art (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Holiday (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Gold Geld Luxus Mensch (coll) | Kunsthaus sans titre, Potsdam (DE)  2016 Xmas special (coll) | Art Gallery Wiesbaden (DE) Flowers (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Archi Top Event (coll) | Antwerpen (BE) La Dolce Vita (coll) | Art Galerie Richter, Berlin (DE) ?Im Kabinett (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Sommeraccrochage (coll) | Art Galerie Richter, Berlin (DE) ?Summertime (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Pop Art Never Dies (coll) | Metropolitan Gallery, Hamburg (DE) Seascapes (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Kleopatra (coll) | Raab Galerie, Berlin (DE) Ambiente Art Fair (coll) | Frankfurt am Main (DE)  ?2015? Urban Art - Rock'n'Roll (solo) | Kunsthandlung Steuer, Worms (DE) Kunsthaus Schill (coll.) | Stuttgart (DE) Galerie Brigitte Zettel (solo) | Mallersdorf-Pfaffenberg (DE) Colors'N Grooves (solo) | Brisky Galerie, Esslingen (DE) Art Gallery Wiesbaden (coll.) | Wiesbaden (DE) Galerie Udo Schmidt (coll.) | Lüdenscheid (DE) Ewen Gur, Devin Miles und James Rizzi (coll.) | Art box Berlin (DE) Ambiente Art Fair (coll) | Frankfurt am Main (DE)  20?14 Das vierte Buch (coll) | Cuxhavener Kunstverein, Cuxhaven (DE) Painting on a piece of the original Berlin Wall (solo) | Berlin (DE) Summer of Love Mix 2014 (coll) | Galerie Firla, Bonn (DE) Ambiente Art Fair (coll) | Frankfurt am Main (DE)  2013 La Femme Rock'n'roll (solo) | Galeries Lafayette Berlin (DE) Affiliated (coll.) | Brisky Gallery Miami, Florida (US) Little Dudes (coll.) | Urban Spree Gallery, Berlin (DE)  2012 Sneakers Live Painting (solo) | Soho House Berlin (DE) Cube Concept (solo) | Galeries Lafayette Berlin (DE)  2011 New Oil Works! (solo) | Office Gallery, Berlin (DE) Stroke Urban Art Fair (coll.) | Berlin (DE) 3XA Überding (coll.) | Galerie Kollaborativ, Berlin (DE) War and Peace (coll.) | G11 Galerie, Berlin (DE)  2010 Travelling Without Moving (solo) | Office Gallery, Berlin (DE) City (solo) | Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Zimmer, Berlin (DE)  2009 Tokyo Mix Tape (solo) | M Event, Tokyo (JP) Back In Town (solo) | Boxoffberlin Gallery, Berlin (DE) GMAC (coll.) | Paris (FR) Out of Berlin! (solo) | Hôtel de ville, Ballan-Miré (FR) French Comics (solo) | Unifor, Berlin (DE) Les Sarabandes (coll.) | Saint-Genis-d'Hiersac (FR) Business meets Art (coll.) | C7 International, Berlin (DE) Back In Black (solo) | Galerie la Passerelle, Tours (FR) Artists Meet Autism (coll.) | Improtheater Berlin (DE) Salon des Métiers d'Art (coll.) | Ballan-Miré (FR)  2008 Black & White & Quelques Couleurs (solo) | OTSI, Luynes (FR) Histoires Urbaines (solo) | IPSE Project, Tours (FR)  2007 Gallery Artmateur (coll.) | Tours (FR) Artistic Influences: I am inspired by the big city, the trends and absurdities that occur there. Watching people is always fun. In terms of artistic trends, clearly popular culture. I work almost every day in cafes for inspiration. I am also sensitive to good products, wines and cheeses for example, and to contemporary design. There are also some artists who had a great influence on me: Marcel gotlib, franquin, basquiat and keith haring. Tags: berlin, germany, france, pop art, neo pop, street art, graffiti, comics, urban , illustration