Brigitte Bardot is in St-Tropez…again
Pop Artist Spotlight: Gieler
Michiel Folkers, who goes by the artist name of Gieler, was born in 1982 in the Netherlands. In the late 90’s he began experimenting with graffiti in Amsterdam. For years Gieler remained active with spraying letters on walls but as he got older, graffiti evolved into street-art, where he started to experiment on canvas with pulled street posters, spray paint, acrylic and lacquer. This emerging talent of the art world is worth keeping an eye on…
The street influences can be recognized strongly in his works, by using a very interesting and distinctive technique where he hand-tears posters from the city and reworks them into his canvases. He is able to compose unique images on canvas captivating the viewer with the voice of the people and his own. Blending urban elements in a highly intricate way, he creates beautiful compositions that differentiate him from his counterparts. Since 2014 he has been diligently creating this body of work by replicating the captivating beauty of pop icons with his own style.
It’s a Sin to Be Tired
The above piece depicts famous English model Kate Moss. Done with beautiful expressive colors and a distinctive street art design, this piece pops with energy and a romantic beauty.
As an emerging artist from The Netherlands, his collage works are composed with posters he collects from walls out of the streets; he has developed a technique of ”Sustainable art” which gives a living and edgy character to his paintings. He also uses other old materials, like damaged brushes, blunt Stanley knives or other older and sometimes broken tools.
Gieler is able to create a completely unusual and powerful body of work by using rebellious and nostalgic plays on icons of the past and present such as Brigitte Bardot, Kate Moss, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Marilyn Monroe. Working on mostly larger canvases, the presence of these pop pieces make a dramatic statement; but a closer look at the details reveals exciting, rich textures, layers of hand pulled street posters, and hidden hilarious hand-written messages from the featured icon. Gieler’s evolving fascination with the voice of Amsterdam is now expanding to different cities such as London and New York, where he is represented by high-end galleries:
Lilac Gallery Ltd. | 144 5th Avenue | Suite 3L | New York, NY 10011 | Tel – Fax 212 255-2925
