New Work by C215

I admire Banksy as much as anyone does, and feel like he's entitled to all the success he can muster up. That being said, in my opinion his stencil work doesn't hold a candle to the brilliance of French stencil master C215

I posted about his work once before, but some recent images have demanded further consideration. First, pieces like this one started to surface around Europe and in NYC. While it's still recognizably C215's work, the incredible layered stencils and expressionistic color work are brand new and just take his already compelling images to a whole other level.

Second, C215 mounted this amazing 6 x 10 meter paper stencil on a wall in Rome as part of a fascinating group show in which several Fascist-era housing projects have become the canvases for large stenciled posters by prominent European street artists. More on that show here (in Italian) and here (in English.) According to his website, "This is a portrait of a Romanian lady that I glued to fight racism against gypsies in Europe since there are more and more pogroms done to them since they integrated Europe, with camps put on fire etc. without reactions of authorities." Great photos from the exhibit here.

It's fascinating to see how this smart and talented artist has developed his voice over the years, and I can't wait to see what comes next.