Goldophone, 2021

DN  

Born in Nevers in 1976, David Nicolas, known by his initials DN, is a French street artist and painter. During his childhood DN created a comic strip about ladybirds, which allowed him to discover the bookshop that would later stock his first artwork.

DN is the artist behind the famous 'Le chat' (the cat) graffiti on rue Abbé Girard in Clermont-Ferrand, which he created for the Such'Art course in 2018. The same year, commissioned by the company Véolia, he went to Réunion Island to graffiti a reservoir.

During 2017, he made the move from street art to create works on canvases. In doing so he increased both his techniques and supports.

DN paints in a free way; freedom is the best word for his body of work, regardless of which support he uses. The artist paints according to his mood, desires and thoughts at any given moment. He is inspired by pop culture and rarely shies away from reappropriating cult images and well-known characters.

His works 'GoldoBart' (2018), 'DarkvaLove' (2018), 'Daisy Toys' (2018), 'Charlie t'écoute quoi?' (2018) and 'Gotham' (2018), parody cartoon characters, comic books and famous celebrities. His colours are lively and characteristic of street art. Each character depicted is emphasised by a colourful and graffiti-covered background. 

The characters are often painted holding a mundane object, like Popeye who is not depicted with his legendary pipe but rather an e-cigarette in the work Popeye adopte la cigarette électronique ! (Popeye adopting an e-cigarette!). These characters are timeless and in keeping with the times. DN's artworks reach and speak to a huge number of people thanks to the artist's many references to daily life and the culture that surrounds us.

His style strengthens with every year, combining urban art with the art of painting on canvas. The artist doesn't only depict pop culture characters, he also creates portraits and even animal paintings such as 'Tiger graff' (2018). 

DN's artworks are firmly grounded in and part of our daily life.