The Art of Jisbar
Jean-Baptiste Launay – known by the artistic name Jisbar (born in France in 1989) – is one of the leading figures of the modern street and pop art generation.
Jisbar has exhibited in numerous galleries around the world and in prestigious museums such as the Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi, the National Museum of Immigration’s History in Paris, the Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz, California, the Technology and Maritime Museum in Malmo (Sweden), and the Postcard Museum in Bau (France). Jisbar’s artworks, a blend of reality and fiction, offer a unique and distinct perspective of the outside world.
In 2019, Jisbar became the first artist to launch an artwork into space: his street art version of the Mona Lisa orbited the Earth before landing in the north of the United Kingdom. Jisbar likes to say that each of his artworks represents “moments of life,” like a memory captured in a photo album.
We had the pleasure of conducting an insightful interview to learn more about his work, personality, and world!
When, how, and why did you become an artist?
I started painting when I was little; my mother had paints and brushes at home, and that was all I needed. I was a child, probably around 8 or 9 years old, and I practiced when she wasn’t looking. I immediately fell in love with this form of expression, which I find more complete than just words.
What have been the most important moments of your artistic career?
The first time I exhibited my work abroad, in the USA, several years ago. It was incredible to think that at that moment I was traveling overseas to attend an exhibition featuring my artworks.
I also remember the first time a museum reached out to exhibit my work, it was in 2015, and it was amazing, especially because the then President of France, François Hollande, visited the exhibition in person.
Lastly, another important moment in my career was my recent collaboration with Ducati, a well-known international brand, for organizing a charity auction.
What is your style?
I prefer simply to say that I am a painter; defining a precise style is like imprisoning the artist, putting invisible barriers in his mind.
Many of your artworks reimagine great masterpieces from the past, giving them a pop and street art twist. Why do you look to the past? Which masterpiece has impacted you the most?
I didn’t have the opportunity to study art formally, so I had to teach myself, shaping my artistic knowledge independently. The best technique for learning and immersing myself in art history was to revisit it.
On one hand, there was my desire to learn about art history and the techniques used by great artists. On the other hand, by reinterpreting classical works in a more contemporary version, I set myself the goal of passing on this know-how and knowledge to others. Only in this way can I say that my mission has been accomplished!
In your works, we can notice a multitude of writings. Are these your messages? Your dreams?
These writings represent my ideas or things that come to my mind—associations of thoughts, things I hear on TV or the radio, quotes from music, or even emotions I’m experiencing at that moment, quotes that make me feel good… We can define it as a mix of many things that, consciously or not, pass through my mind.
We then notice the presence of certain symbols, visible only in the dark…
It’s a technique I initially used because my paintings were being copied, and it was the only way I had to add a sort of security seal to validate the authenticity of my work against that of counterfeiters. However, since the counterfeiters have discovered this technique, I now use other methods that, of course, will remain secret.
You decided to successfully launch a “Jisbar Monna Lisa” into space. Why did you do that?
I wanted to exhibit in a place where no one had ever hung a painting, a different place compared to the classic art gallery or museum with white walls that we are so used to, the same everywhere in the world. I wanted to highlight the beauty of what surrounds us. The canvas floated in space, alone, in the middle of nothingness, and it is the image of the most beautiful exhibition I’ve ever seen. It’s a sublime image and pushes us beyond our limits.
Nature is the most precious thing we have, and only a few people are aware of it.
What message do you want to share through your art? And what is your dream?
Stop taking yourself too seriously and don’t waste your time being negative. Every day I make a dream come true, more or less crazy, but I make something I dream about happen. I keep moving forward and stay as positive as possible.
Future projects?
I have many things planned! But I prefer people to discover the new projects through my Instagram account: it’s more fun with a photo!
