Fantastic stencil done by Christian Guémy around the Parisian Panthéon

The French stencil artist Christian Guémy paid tribute to the Great Men what we called in France « Les Grands Hommes » and introduces in a smart way all those forgotten faces that sleep in our Parisian Pantheon. Renowned for his magical stencils, Christian Guémy offers a discovery walk around the Pantheon. Even if the exhibition in the crypt of this beautiful historical French monument is finished, you can still discover his works outdoors that continues to live!

 

Christian Guémy, the stencil artist, gives a face to Pantheon’s Great Men!

There is graffiti and graffiti! Looking at the work of Christian Guémy we understand very quickly that behind the graffiti there are hours of patience and cuts to achieve the final stencil. He manages to transcribe into his faces very particular expressions: strength, dreams, loneliness, certainty, etc.

A long time ago I had the chance to see a homeless face he had made in Brooklyn and it’s since that moment that I’ve been interested in his work. So much humanism on stencil seemed to me more than surprising and far from the stencils with anagrams of Miss. Tic or the more politicized ones of Blek the Rat.

Over the years his work on the faces of celebrities chosen by his care has become more and more present in our streets – for the pleasure of our eyes and also for memory. For me this exhibition that took place in the crypt of the Pantheon was more than legitimate and the mesh of our history to a more urban culture is a great step forward for a beautiful sharing between generations.

 

28 artworks by Christian Guémy to discover around the Pantheon!

At the time of the expo I had decided to walk in the neighborhood at random without having downloaded the map that allowed to locate the works of Christian Guémy. I wanted to be surprised at the corner of a street and it was very playful. Each face brings us back to a childhood or school memory. We scrutinize the deep look of Victor Hugo thinking back to this movie that marked our childhood – Les Misérables -. The face of Malraux makes us want to plunge into the reading of “The Human Condition” that we have a little forgotten. And this Mirabeau of which we have a little forgotten facetties and its ephemeral passage to the Pantheon!

The most pleasant thing about this walk around the Pantheon is the people you meet; there are those who photograph the works and those who try the discussion. There are young people from a very young age and people from all horizons. Street Art brings people together and this exhibition is a great addition to discussions! Even if the exhibition is over; I realized that the exchanges were still going well!

After my walk I had landed in this wet crypt of the Pantheon.

I am not a fan of cemeteries or places of memory; and I had really returned to the Pantheon to discover Christian Guémy’s exhibition; without any particular desire to make a complete visit. The crypt was wet and the atmosphere charged with emotion. Even though the presentation was very limited; the projected videos were interesting. At the time I felt that the walk was ample. Nothing to regret as the exhibition is over!  If you want to discover his work; there are so many beautiful stencils outdoors that will delight you.

If you are passing through Paris; I strongly recommend this walk, among family & friends; the impressions left by these illustrious faces on our memory is a beautiful experience. Not to mention the fact that it is a very nice area of Paris with the Luxembourg Garden a few steps away. All information related to the exhibition, as well as the plan are still available on the Pantheon website.

If by chance you wanted to travel and discover the work of Christian Guémy, I recommend the excellent book C215, la monographie published by Albin Michel. Ideal reading on a rainy day!

Otherwise you can visit my Instagram account that includes part of my walk around the Pantheon and you will discover hundreds of other artists!

For my part, I will quickly go on a hunt for new Street Art works in Paris and elsewhere, and if you want to continue discovering Street Art ballads; I recommend you to jump in the Street Art category of my blog, you will certainly find out some artists you love!