Acrylic painting “Mineko” by Valérian Lenud (Mexico)

Valérian, or Valé Stencil, is a French street artist born in 1990. After a decade of traveling, Valé, who now lives in Mexico City, has developed an aesthetic that combines figurative stencil compositions with pop graffiti styling, both as murals and canvas artworks. With a strong empathy and belief in the human spirit, his work can be seen as a reflection of our shared humanity. His work combines various techniques and consists primarily of numerous layers of hand-cut stencils painted with a mixture of brushes, aerosol cans, palette knives, or markers. In this practice, he combines bright, glossy colors and shades of gray on subtle shading stencils to achieve a sense of photorealism. Valérian's work contrasts recognizable pop iconography with imagery of local cultures to represent the multifaceted identity of each culture he encounters on his travels around the world. This juxtaposition is an homage to urban art, contrasting the gray of the streets with the vibrant colors that represent the vibrancy of life. Valérian collaborates with galleries, social projects, festivals, and brands. His artwork can be found in galleries in Paris, Saint-Tropez, Monaco, New York, Amsterdam, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. He has exhibited at venues including Galerie Saint-Martin and Galerie Sonia Monti in France, the Franz Mayer Museum and Carré d'Artistes in Mexico, and Carré d'Artistes New York in the USA. He has been featured by StreetArt NYC, Konbini, Cultura Colectiva, and Estilo DF, and commissioned for projects such as Jaguar Land Rover, Montana, Comex, and Santander.