Youssef Boubekeur

The Bic pen has become the tool of choice for Youssef Boubekeur who uses it almost exclusively. The line of the ballpoint pen is both precise… and indelible. It forces the artist to build with and on his mistakes that he thus fully integrates into his creative process. His art is an art of precision and spontaneity, he works his drawings as one would sculpt matter.

Using the ballpoint pen is also a pleasure for diversion, a central idea in the work of Youssef Boubekeur. Creating the spectacular from the banal, giving birth to the "beautiful" by means of a simple instrument of everyday life, known and used by all, that could not displease this lover of street-art, anxious to place the art at the heart of everyone's daily life. Youssef Boubekeur draws almost exclusively with blue “Bic”. Thus, his drawings, soft monochrome, reveal their precision and hyper-realism and all their beauty.

Youssef Boubekeur met the French artist JR who in 2007 took him to a street art project in Israel and Palestine, the now famous Face2Face project. Subsequently, the artist regularly took part in various JR projects around the world. The influence of street art is obvious to Youssef Boubekeur. It manifests itself by its attraction for large-format works and by its desire for a simple, generous and funny art, aimed at the greatest number.