Thoma Vuille a.k.a M.Chat is a Franco-Swiss painter, born in Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in 1977. He is the creator of the graphic series M. Chat, a smiling feline character created in the streets of Orléans in an approach combining optimism and local culture. Thoma Vuille began street painting with acrylic at the age of 15, in memory of her grandfather, a building painter. He is a student at the Orléans Institute of Visual Arts
from 1995 to 2001. Thoma Vuille’s work consists of a constant decline in the figure of M. Chat, whose trait has been assured over the years. The idea came to him in 1997 during a workshop at an Orleans school where a little girl made a cat drawing that inspired the artist. He then began to paint his cat on the walls of the city of Orléans, preferably at the roofs, with the sole objective of «putting human and love in the city». The drawing is simple, the line clear: the smiling cat at first makes the effect of a logo. However, it cannot be reduced in this way: «The cat does not come in a logotype, but stealthily captivates us». Coming from street art, he deploys his «cartoonesque silhouette» in multiple positions, face or profile, with or without wings, alone or accompanied. Mr. Chat has a strong identity, but one that “supports variations”. His very simplicity allows him to achieve
a symbolic dimension.
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