MR BRAINWASH (FRENCH, b.1966)
Follow Your Dreams
signed 'Mr Brainwash' (lower-centre right); further signed, inscribed and dated 'life is/beautiful/2018 Mr brainwash' (verso)
acrylic, spray paint and mixed media with neon lightbulb on corrugated metal and wooden panels
163.7 x 121.3 cm. (64 1/2 x 47 3/4 in.)

Provenance
With Maddox Gallery, London, where acquired by
Private Collection, where acquired by the present owners

Born in 1966 in France, Thierry Guetta, professionally known as Mr. Brainwash is a Los Angeles-based street artist. According to the Banksy-directed film Exit Through the Giftshop which follows the life of aspiring videographer Thierry Guetta, his fascination with the clandestine lives of street artists, leads him to film a series of them including Shepard Fairey and Banksy, whilst running his vintage clothes shop in LA. Following the movie, it was a simple suggestion from Banksy to try his hand at street art, that prompted the birth of Mr. Brainwash.

Since his first solo show in 2008, Mr. Brainwash has been experimenting with modern art. His delicate balancing act has been the deliberate convergence of pop art and street art. Mr. Brainwash's "Life is Beautiful," a phrase frequently used to emphasise the goodness and beauty of our existence, is a prominent theme and subject for the artist. Mr. Brainwash's work encourages open discussions about life's complexities and varied persectives throughout society, which ultimately make an appreciation of life's beauty possible.