Graffiti running through the viens of TANC

Tanc in SoHo-New York during his residence/Solo Exhibition "Oscillation" at Catherine Ahnell Gallery

TANC started out as a graffiti artist in the 90s in the streets of Paris, France. Even today his work is very much connected to his earlier graffiti and tagging. With certain elements from his background in graffiti running through his whole artistic career. It is not just the technique he uses and developed, but also the fact that he has built his artistry on the spontaneity and the ephemeral in the very act of the creation.

The art collective VAO (Vandales à l’Origine) is still an important part of TANC’s artist life. VAO was founded in 1996 by the artists L’ATLAS and Koers. Rooted in graffiti and street art the collective has fifteen members today; L’Atlas, Aleteïa, Babou, Benjamin Laading, Clyde Knowland, CT, Obêtre, Outsider/Swiz, Parole, Sylvain Ristori "Sambre", Jonas Sun7, Tanc, Teurk, Valérie Newland, Yassine "Yaze" Mekhnache. The diverse practice of its members has spread their work in different directions over the years, from abstract calligraphy and graffiti, "calligramme", land art, to minimalism and expressionism and all of them with a strong connection to their street art background, which defines the core of the collective.

Inside the VAO artist studio in Lilas, Paris.

TANC’s work can be described in the crossroad between graffiti, action painting and optic art. Always searching the spontaneity over perfection, the focus lies in the action instead in the result. The art of action painting can be linked back to his foundation in street art as well as the spray paint TANC uses as his main medium. Often creating abstract work of what can be described as spray painted letters or sentences, TANC also uses the cap of the spray paint bottle to finish his writing.

But there is also another creative field that very much influences TANC's visual art work: Music. Not only does TANC creat music and dj on stage, rythm also has a crucial part in his way of composing a painting. Listening to his own heart beats and letting a rythm lead his arm movements like a metronome, he is creating a balance between the concsious and subconcsious in his art pieces.

Translation: TANC "The rhythm of the spray paint"