Pez (Pierre-Yves Riveau) describes himself as a 'visual artist from Nantes'. The Frenchman is an illustrator, painter and graphic designer.
The colossal street artist was influenced at a young age by graffiti and hip-hop culture and later a host of artists, including Klimpt, Magritte, Escher and Dali, Banksy, Kaws, Bua, Proch, Etam Cru and many more.
In the nineties, he was creating throw-ups; he then worked as a professional illustrator and continued to take inspiration from graffiti and contemporary artists when he began as a professional artist.
Pez works to a rather unconventional process; most of the time, he works 100% from his imagination, and sometimes the process serves the idea and not the contrary.
"I don't think I have a sort of mission or something because I'm an artist. I'm just adding messages to my work because I like it, but I'll never force myself if I have nothing to say," commented the artist.
"I don't think everyone can and should include messages in their work. You have to get a sort of maturity to be able to do so. Until recently, I'd only designed purely esthetic pieces, but my work is increasingly carrying a strong message, and I think I'm enjoying it. Sometimes the message is obvious, and sometimes I let people read into it whatever they like."
His smaller sketches, with graphite crayons, can take 6 to 10 hours, and more significant works can take anywhere from 40 – 60 hours, sometimes much longer depending on the piece. Pez adds a deliberate element of imperfection into his works to ensure that the results aren't just aesthetic. He is internationally renowned for his precise drawing skills, humorous subject matter and detailed content. His works have become highly collectible worldwide.
