Freedom (Liberté) – Street Art, liberty, parapluie, umbrella, critique sociale, social critique, société, society, politiciens, politicians, statue de la liberté, statue of liberty, Paris, 2017

Romano  

Born in 1982, the artist Romano lives and works in Paris. Having drawn and painted from a very young age, he studied in the evenings at the École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris while working as Artistic Director in a communications agency during the day, before attending the Créapole design school. This was when he began to make his mark on the capital’s walls, trying out several disciplines to express his spontaneity: drawings, oil paintings, acrylics, photography, stencils and collages. He developed his artwork, featuring faces, bodies and colours, to focus on more committed pieces, a result of his cultural education: an combination of French classicism and 90s hip hop. His sensitivity to two cultures which are so different leads him to ask questions about « living together ». In 2013, he collaborated with the artists Riks and Tiez to create the « LeMouvement » collective. Together, they work to celebrate diversity and, through works like « Les parapluies », extol the vibrancy of a diverse society. This work of art, combining realism and poetry, captures shared moments between two Parisians, bound by their differences, united under an umbrella. These photographic collages are displayed in the streets to create a link between subjects and passers-by. As part of this focus on bringing people together, Romano has created a fresco on the wall of the first refugee reception centre in Porte de la Chapelle. The collective has also paid tribute to the victims of the attacks of 13 November on the façade of the Ministry of Culture, Rue Saint-Honoré.