Preview: André Saraiva “Andrépolis” at The Hole

Tomorrow night The Hole Gallery will present Andrépolis, a solo exhibition of work by French street artist and entrepreneur André Saraiva. His smiley faced stick figure, Monsier A, was painted throughout the streets of Paris throughout the 90’s and has reached an iconic status.

As suggested in the title of the show, André will be building his own miniature city within the Gallery. The city he plans to bring to life will feature a lot of night time liveliness from fully lit buildings to neon signs to New York City restaurants and night clubs, something he has plenty of personal experience with. This installation acts as a representation of the worlds Saraiva centers himself in, from the art world to the nightclub industry he has contributed so much to as the proprietor of the Le Baron clubs in Paris, Tokyo, and New York. The installation will have fifteen monumental sculptures that will fully encompass his vision of an urban landscape, drawing inspiration from New York and Paris, the artist’s two favorite cities. André envisions Andrépolis not just a link between two cities but also as a connection between a world of childhood to the art world. Incorporating things like theme parks and giant toys in addition to the other lively aspects of the installation.

Andrépolis opens at The Hole Gallery tomorrow, 6-9pm, and will run through August 10th, 2012.

Text: Jude Liana