SkunkDog

SkunkDog, whose real name is David Négri, is a French contemporary artist born in Marseille in 1968. A painter, plastic artist, and figure in the street art scene, he develops a unique universe at the crossroads of Pop Art, Art Brut, contemporary figuration, and urban culture. His journey is deeply marked by rock music, the punk movement, and freedom of expression, which constitute the foundations of his artistic identity. After long evolving outside the art world, he decides to dedicate himself entirely to creation and gradually builds a immediately recognizable work, where the energy of the street dialogues with a reflection on the great contemporary myths.

Originating from Marseille, SkunkDog was introduced to painting very early by his father and simultaneously nurtured a passion for music. He collaborates notably with the photographer Robert Bilbil, with whom he shares a strong taste for rock culture. His path took a decisive turn during several stays in New York, where he frequented the Green House Gallery in the SoHo neighborhood. There he met Jerry Foust, who introduced him to the Jungle movement, a collective of artists inspired by the spirit of the New York Factory. This experience nourished the emergence of his own plastic language, which he calls "Punk Art," a fusion between figurative art, Pop Art, Art Brut, and underground aesthetics.

SkunkDog's work is distinguished by a dense and expressive material. The artist works as much on canvas as on recovered supports – doors, shutters, pallets, or panels – which he transforms into surfaces of creation. He combines acrylic, oil, India ink, chalk, resin, earth or coffee, then scrapes, scarifies, and superimposes layers to produce a texture evoking the walls of large metropolises, continuously painted, displayed, and erased. His expressive characters, his animals, his mythological figures, and his inscriptions compose vibrant works where humor, rebellion, sensuality, and references to art history mingle.

Among his notable exhibitions are Ides of March at Casaverde, SoHo, New York (2006), an exhibition at the Galerie Chapo in Gordes (2006), a presentation at the Jungle Gallery in SoHo (2007), several exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts of Marseille, as well as a performance with the Italian Gang collective during the Fiesta des Suds in Marseille (2008). His work is also presented in different galleries in Provence, Marseille, Paris, and New York. In parallel, he founded the Italian Gang collective, bringing together painting, video, performance, and music to create multidisciplinary artistic experiences.

Today, SkunkDog is established as a singular personality in French contemporary creation. His work, nourished by punk culture, street art, rock music, and the great narratives of art history, explores themes of freedom, urban memory, and identity. Through his powerful aesthetic, his vibrant colors, and his work with material, he occupies an original place on the scene of contemporary urban art, where he pursues a plastic research that is at once instinctive, engaged, and deeply personal.