Goulwen (Leyto) Mahé

Goulwen “Leyto" Mahé was born in 1980 in Saint-Brieux. He emerged in the '90s graffiti scene in Brittany. He makes graffiti on canvas as well as on the city's walls, in abandoned industrial sites and factories and other "supports" that cross his path.

Fascinated by signs and symbols, he seeks to disobey the graffiti codes to elaborate his own graphic system. His sensitive and instinctive writing is born from “tags", “flops" and “throw-ups" made on the streets; three emblematic disciplines of graffiti combining dexterity and rapidity of execution which have always stimulated his imagination.

Later, inspired by artists such as Pollock, De Kooning, Alechinsky or Dotremont, this writing, liberated from lettering systems, is improvised little by little so that it builds upon itself and is transformed into a lyrical abstraction structured by spiky or rounded shapes, sometimes violent, always poetic.

Goulwen “Leyto" Mahé's nomadic spirit, the different cultures of the countries he has visited or in which he has lived are also a constant source of inspiration. From his very colorful abstract paintings to his large wall frescoes, he invites us to enter an expressionist universe where color supports line which writes as much as it draws.