Mahn Kloix

Mahn Kloix grew up in a family of activists, driven by the great struggles of the social left. And if the inserted activism hovers above his head, the young man will choose a path without a party, but just as committed: artistic creation. In 2003 he entered the Gobelins, the school of the image, to rub shoulders with graphics and applied arts, at the heart of classes envisaged as real group workshops. The young artist also spent part of his studies in Besançon: he was then influenced by the Bauhaus and then by the “refined, cold and clean” Swiss school, as well as the aesthetics of the great German and Russian poster artists. Steinlen, Cassandre, Loupot, Savignac inspire him and direct him irremediably towards the paper format: “one of the rare communication medium capable of crossing time. Over time, the graphic designer slowly gives way to the artist. Having become Mahn Kloix, the man travels, draws, begins to appear in public space. Established in Marseille since 2010, he made the old historic city his starting point for exploring the “political and militant” Mediterranean basin. Supported by the portrait painter Peter Hapak - reporter for Time Magazine -, seen in the pages of the daily La Marseillaise or of Vice Greece, the project continues to grow: "my exploration of these international" Counterfires ", as they liked. naming Pierre Bourdieu is still in its infancy. Whistleblowers, refugees, activists within humanitarian structures or Femens are some of the fractures, fights and commitments promised to keep the poster in the future in my work ”confides the artist. Biography written by Théophile Pillault.