Mr. Brainwash

Thierry Guetta, known as the street artist Mr. Brainwash, was born in 1966 in France and moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was 15 years old after his mother died.

Guetta owned a vintage clothing store in Los Angeles and worked as an amateur videographer. He constantly filmed his life and those around him, accumulating hours of footage. While visiting Paris, he discovered the secret identity of his cousin – street artist Space Invader. For the rest of his visit, Guetta followed his cousin around, filming him as he created his street art.

He quickly became fascinated by the secret art process. This led him to Shepard Fairey, a famous street artist in the United States. Guetta followed Fairey around for 10 months, filming his secret creations. Around this time, Guetta also filmed many other street artists. It was shortly after that that Guetta met Banksy , infamous worldwide for his provocative street art. Banksy allowed him to film on the condition that his identity would be hidden from the public.

After capturing thousands of hours of footage of these street artists, Guetta edited them into a film. After watching the film, Banksy thought Guetta should try his hand at street art instead. He never knew how literally Guetta would take him. Almost overnight, Guetta adopted the persona of Mr. Brainwash (MBW). The new story quickly followed Mr. Brainwash's rapid rise to fame as he attempted to stage his debut exhibition Life in Beautiful in Los Angeles in 2008. This was the subject of the Banksy film Exit Through the Gift Shop.

In 2009, he designed the cover for Madonna's Celebration album. Since then, he has had many more successful shows, including pop-ups at Art Basel Miami and in New York City. Mr. Brainwash's art is a combination of pop imagery and contemporary cultural icons, resulting in a pop graffiti street art aesthetic. Mr. Brainwash currently lives and works in Los Angeles.

Below you can buy posters and canvases with motifs by Mr. Brainwash.