Mantra is a self-taught French graffiti artist working globally.
Mantra at a glance
- Born: 1987, France
- Nationality: French
- Medium: Graffiti and street art murals
- Known for: Realistic, larger than life murals of butterflies, owls and spiders
- Training: Self-taught
- Active since: 2008
- Collaboration: Works with the Franco-German graffiti artist Love since 2011
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.” — Berthold Brecht
Born in France in 1987, Mantra has been active since 2008. He is a self-taught painter emerging from the French graffiti scene. Since 2011 he collaborate with the Franco-German Love graffiti artist; and from 2012 he built independientes projects alongside this partnership.
Mantra grew up between the noise of the city center and the whispers of the surrounding countryside. The adult he has become today pays tribute to his childhood heroes: butterflies owls and spiders.
His whole bestiary is portrayed in a realistic and lively style. These creatures mirrors the cries of a nature that we don’t hear anymore. Many footprints are left in the urban space and repeated like mantras.
He learn to understand, remember and recite each with increasing precision concentration and sensitivity. Mantra builds them increasingly large while driven by the feeling of rain and wind. He takes care to every detail with the aim of bringing a soul to the wall.
His eternal searching for balance creates a new reality on every surface. The walls he transforms are no longer just structures but living canvases. You can view his work at mantrarea.com.
Graffiti art is a subgenre of Street Art, which emerged from New York City in the 1970s. Banksy is perhaps the most famous practitioner of this school; He remains anonymous, yet His political murals have inspired countless artists. His influence extends far beyond galleries, while Mantra’s work focuses on nature’s fragile beauty.
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.” — Berthold Brecht