Mr. Brainwash

Mr. Brainwash (real name Thierry Guetta) is a French street artist who rose to fame through his collaboration with Banksy in the 2010 Academy-nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. He was both featured in and responsible for the filming of the project.

Mr. Brainwash’s style has been referred to as a “collision of street art and pop art”. He often juxtaposes cultural and contemporary icons (such as Marilyn Monroe and Kate Moss) and is greatly influenced by pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. Using and reusing popular imagery and themes borrowed from other famous artists, such as Jeff Koon’s steel balloon animals and Banksy’s ‘Throwing Man’, Mr Brainwash aligns his artistic intentions with those of the original pop artists, producing art for everybody that can be experienced anywhere.

The artist’s debut exhibition Life is Beautiful (2008) had sales of five figures for single works and received praise from British street artist Banksy. The following year, Madonna commissioned Mr. Brainwash to design the cover for her album Celebration. His major auction debut occurred at Philips in 2010 where Charlie Chaplin Pink sold for $122,500, from an upper estimate of $70,000. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles.