Chanoir

Chanoir, also known as Alberto Vejarano, is a contemporary French-Colombian street artist born in 1976 in Bogota.

His nickname is a reference to a poster of the famous Parisian cabaret Le Chat Noir, by Théophile Steinlen.

Biography
Chanoir became active in the streets of Barcelona at the beginning of Y2K, where he did the documentary Murs Libres. In 2002, he became the founder of Collectif 1980 with other artists such as Jean-Philippe Illanes, Alexandre Sirvin, Hugo Garcia, et Ernest Añaños Montoto.

His father, Gustavo Vejerano, is a painter.

Style and influences
His colored figures take their roots in the ligne claire and cartoon style. Chanoir gets his inspiration from his childhood in the 80s: the simple lines of Barbapapa, the craziness of Les Shadoks and naïve mangas for kids such as Hello Kitty.

Artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat or Keith Haring are obvious references too.

Expositions
• 2011 - Les chats qui taguent, Musée en Herbe, Paris

• 2014 - Streets Hotel, Paris

• 2014 - Affordable Art Fair

• 2015 - AFF Singapour, Bruxelles & Lille

• 2017 - Scope Art Fair (Miami)

• 2018 - Nasty & Chanoir, La Baule, France

• 2018 - Broken minds, clever hands, La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France

• 2019 - Zoo XXL, Lyon

• 2020 - One, Two… Street Art !

• 2021 - Chanoir au MUR, Aix-les-Bains

Collaboration with brands
Amongst his most notable commercial work are:
 * the design of a collection for Cacharel at the Galeries Lafayette
 * phone cases for Samsung
 * a mural fresque for Disney store on the Champs-Élysées.
 * decors for the video game Just Dance 19
 * the perfumes Fresh Her and Fresh Him by Ungaro

Other works
Murs libres, a documentary about the street art crew of Barcelona with Jean-Michel Alberola