Old School Rules ... !, 2025

Papa Mesk  

Writer, engraver, rapper and beat-maker, Papa Mesk aka Mesk1 (Julien Odic) was born in 1972. He has a bachelors in visual artist from Université de Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne. He has been doing graffiti since 1986 and founded his own group, the UTP Crew. Papa Mesk has left his trace on the palisades of the Louvre, the Stalingrad quarter, in London, Amsterdam and Barcelona. He lives in Fontenay Sous Bois today. Side by side, his graphic designer profession gave him a whole new artistic approach.

The artist draws inspiration from various contemporary artists (Mucha, Klimt, Mondrian, Massoudy...) and graffiti artists (Futura 2000, Dondi, Lee, Rammellzee, Seen, Bando, Mode2, Lokiss).

Enamored by calligraphy, he mixes various inspirations and skills in a prolific and protean manner. The artist explores techniques and colors through an avant-garde style and in the same lines of Urban basics. Once it matured enough, his vehement style began to sway between Old School and New School.

Due to his explorations, he has turned towards new mediums and formats (exaggerated details) with the same rigor and meticulousness. Papa Mesk opted for canvas where several influences echo brilliantly. He builds up and is at the mercy of the moment, these include an accumulation of tags. The artist distills drops of saturated colors and pays a lot of attention to detail. A true demiurge, he manufactures his own inks in order to have complete mastery over his art. Behind each of his textures, pigments and binders, there is an elaborate thought process. In the course of his evolution, his work has multiplied with its abstract and graphic trends. Dynamism, color and evolution are the in-built trio of his career.

The artist exhibits in Paris very often.