Michel Yakovlev (Yako)

Michel Yakovlev, aka Yako is a French artist, born in NYC in 1963 and grew up in Geneva, Switzerland. Though, it was in France precisely Saint-Paul-de-Vence, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur that he had a key encounter, an important aspect for his artistic career when he was 12 years old, he had lunch at the artist's house, Marc Chagall with his father.

A diplomat for the UNO, Michel Yakovlev's father those days was in charge of finding an artist to design the stained glasses for the headquarters of the organization in New York. It was an important turning point in young Yako's life, reinforcing his early vocation for art and architecture.

Early 80's, he began graffiti, this wasn't appreciated by the authorities, and he ended up portraying his representations on canvas with happy characters in bright colors. Side by side his artistic production, he continued his architectural studies in Grenoble, Isère and obtained his DPLG diploma as an architect in 1988.

He opened his architect agency in Thiverval-Grignon, all the while creating colorful paintings, which have become an escape mechanism for the artist.