Mr. Brainwash, born Thierry Guetta in France in 1966, is the enfant terrible of street art. His graffiti-inspired wry screen prints and sculptures recontextualise images from popular culture and art history.
Guetta moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s. Initially, he was more of a documentarian than an artist, obsessively filming street artists at work, including Shepard Fairey and Banksy.
Mr. Brainwash, born Thierry Guetta in France in 1966, is the enfant terrible of street art. His graffiti-inspired wry screen prints and sculptures recontextualise images from popular culture and art history.
Guetta moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s. Initially, he was more of a documentarian than an artist, obsessively filming street artists at work, including Shepard Fairey and Banksy. However, as Guetta did not make use of these footages, Banksy decided to use them to make Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010). The documentary film traced Guetta’s journey from having discovered his cousin to be the famed street artist Invader, through Guetta’s various footage of street artists in Los Angeles, to his rise to becoming a street artist in his own right, adopting of the pseudonym ‘Mr. Brainwash’, and his first show Life is Beautiful. The film and Guetta became an overnight sensation.
Following on from his first show in 2008, Life is Beautiful became an optimistic slogan and recurring theme that is often splashed across various media, embodying his philosophy of positivity and creativity. This phrase has become synonymous with his brand, appearing in exhibitions and public spaces around the world.
Owing to his popularity, Guetta has collaborated with brands like Hublot, designed album covers for Madonna and Rick Ross, and worked on public art commissions including an outdoor mural at London’s Battersea Power Station.