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Miss Van

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Miss Van graffiti in Barcelona
Miss Van with El Bocho's Little Lucy, Berlin 2009

Miss Van, named Vanessa Alice Bensimon (also known as Vanessa Castex), was born in 1973 in Toulouse, France, is a graffiti and street artist.[1][2] Miss Van starting painting on the street of Toulouse alongside Mademoiselle Kat at the age of 18. Today, Miss Van is now internationally known as a street and fine artist. Miss Van's work has appeared on streets internationally, although she also exhibits canvases in galleries across France, Europe and the United States.[1] Today, her work is characterized by both street art and fine art, blurring the lines between both worlds.[3]

Miss Van currently resides in Barcelona, Spain. From Barcelona, she has written and published several books with the publishing house Drago and coordinated several art shows across Europe.[4] She remains one of the most famous female street and graffiti artists in the world.

Artwork

In her artwork, Miss Van typically depicts sloe-eyed[5] women, covering a varied array of female forms and expressing many different emotions.[6] Common themes in her work include eroticism, sexuality, desire and innocence which are represented by animal masks, pastel colors, and revealing clothing.[2][3] Miss Van's work illustrates a cartoonish, dream-like world of female sexuality.[7] Over time the stylization of the women has changed, reflecting Miss Van's artistic and personal evolution as she has grown and matured.[7] This change is paralleled in Miss Van's increased preference for the gallery over the street.[7] In the gallery, Miss Van embraces enclosed and intimate space gallery space as part of the artistic experience .[7]

Between 2008 and 2016, Miss Van exhibited artwork in many private galleries across the globe. In Asia, she has held a show in Shanghai.[3] In Europe, she has exhibited in London, Rome, Berlin, Paris and Vienna.[3] In North America, she has held shows in Detriot,[8] Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Montreal, Chicago and New York.[3] Several Notable Shows include, Still a Little Magic at Upper Playground, San Francisco in 2008; Cachetes Colorados at Upper Playground, Mexico City in 2010; and A Moment in Time at Saatchi Gallery, London in 2016.[3] The same year, Miss Van also showed at the Atmossphere Biennale in Moscow, Russia, where she exhibited a woven wool rug based on an original painting.[9]

Critical reception

Thematically, her work has provoked a negative reaction from some feminists due to the portrayal of women in her graffiti.[1] Although she receives this backlash, her reasoning for her painting is more personal. "Painting on walls was a way to show that I was boycotting the conventional art world".[10] Despite negative critique of her work, some critics perceive her portrayal of sexuality and feminity as a powerful rejection of male supremacy and male-dominated art.[7] Her work is also appreciated for centering women and increasing the representation of women in street art.[7] Furthermore, the depiction of a full-figured female form in Miss Van's work is representative of body positive politics.[11] Miss Van is regarded as one of the most famous female graffiti and street artists in the world, a genre that is generally considered as having few female artists.[11]

In 2016, Miss Van held her first institutional art show at Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga in Spain, titled  “For The Wind in My Hair."[2] The show featured 39 original paintings on canvas. Artnet News calls the show as "interesting discourse between the worlds of fine art and street art."[2] Miss Van also displays how meaning changes between these two two aritstic sties, the street and gallery.[7]

Publications

Books

Books with contributions by Miss Van

  • Pop Surrealism: What a Wonderfool World (2010) Drago
  • Dorothy Circus Trilogy: Walk on the Wild Side (2013) Drago

References

  1. ^ a b c SWINDLE Magazine Interview with Miss Van
  2. ^ a b c d "Miss Van's First Museum Show Opens in Malaga - artnet News". artnet News. 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Villarreal, Ignacio. [http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=88302#.WM9Pim8rKpp "Miss Van's first show at a museum on view at the Centro de Arte Contempor�neo of M�laga"]. artdaily.com. Retrieved 2017-03-20. {{cite web}}: replacement character in |title= at position 74 (help)
  4. ^ The Dolls of Miss Van. Fornarina Fashion News @ CourtureCandy.com
  5. ^ dark slanted eyes
  6. ^ Miss Van gallery
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Premont, Chantal (2013-04-28). "Miss Van and the Evolution of the Feminine from Brick onto Canvas". CUJAH. Retrieved 2017-04-04. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  8. ^ DeVito, Lee. "Murals in the Market artists address Shepard Fairey, Detroit, and more in inaugural fest". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  9. ^ Harrington, Jaime Rojo & Steven (2016-09-28). "A Moscow Street Art Biennale: Artmossphere 2016". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  10. ^ MissVan.com
  11. ^ a b Porteous, Freyia Lilian. "Weekly Style Muse: Miss Van's Painted Ladies, Body Pos Pinups With Attitude". Retrieved 2017-04-04.


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