The exhibition On the Walls of the City presents an impressive collection of over one hundred and forty works created over the past seventy-four years – from dotted posters to collages, from films to stickers and cryptographs.
Jacques Villeglé has made a number of surprising appearances: his first torn poster in 1949, his first avant-garde film in 1950 and his first socio-political graphic in 1969. His works were made on canvas, slate and three-dimensional sculptures, and later directly on the walls of the city using monumental templates. In the 2000s, he arranged his street stickers into stunning, spontaneous collages, demonstrating that his art is inextricably linked to everyday life, popular culture and high culture.
Villeglé was the first artist to bring the raw, authentic language of the street into the elegant walls of museums. His work gives voice to anonymous urban poetry created by everyday people. His vision offers a fresh new approach to art reception and has been an inspiration and reference point for countless street artists.