– SURIANI –
street artist Paris – São Paulo – Montréal
Suriani was born and raised in São Paulo. In 2002 while studying Architecture and Urbanism at the University of São Paulo, he developed a need to relate to the city through his art. He found in graffiti and collages an effective and transgressive way to live the city. In 2007 he moved to Paris to start a masters degree in Fine Arts at the Université Paris VIII. There he soon integrated the local street art scene.
Suriani’s work consists in inserting hand painted hybrid characters in the urban context inspired by the cultural diversity of modern cities. His interventions relate to local alternative subcultures, club cultures, street fashion and every rising controversial topic the dwelling in the city might bring.
His hybrid characters are a metaphor for the city inhabitants. This hybridization processes consists in mixing human bodies to animal heads such as Brazilian birds, French cats and dogs, Turkish wolves, British foxes and Bolivian llamas. Suriani has found a way to interact with every city he has been to participating in exhibitions and festivals. France, Brazil, England, U.S.A, Switzerland, Spain, Chile, Bolivia, and Turkey are some of the countries he has explored culturally and historically bringing new references and influences to his art.
His latest series, inspired by the Drag Queen culture is a response to the rise of conservative manifestations against the equality of rights in France and abroad. These hybrid (feminine/masculine) characters bring up the political debate over gender issues. He currently lives in Paris and São Paulo where he develops his work in the streets, art galleries, cultural centers and every environment open to the debate of urban diversity.
