Cyril Kongo | Paradis Perdu

Courtesy of the artist and Ode to Art 

Cyril Kongo is an French-Vietnamese artist and a leading figure of Parisian graffiti. Founder of the Kosmopolite Festival in 2002, he has exhibited worldwide—from the Grand Palais in Paris to major cities across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. His work was showcased in a 3,000 m² retrospective at La Défense in 2019 and more recently at the Wave Contemporary Museum in Seoul. Kongo has also collaborated with prestigious houses such as Hermès, Richard Mille, Airbus and Chanel, with his creations presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Paradis Perdu features key elements of Kongo’s style, such as overlapping block lettering and a highly saturated colour palette. The complex interplay of lettering, splatter marks and patternation makes this painting a compelling visual experience that rewards prolonged viewing.