Romain Boz
Born in a rural region of France, Romain Boz arrived in Montreal in 1996. As part of the transition from the countryside to the big city, he was introduced to hip-hop culture. In 1999, he got into graffiti art with no real professional ambitions but a genuine love for the art form. He remained active on the Montreal scene for some 10 years.
At the same time, driven by his fascination with human nature, he began studies in sociology but soon switched to graphic arts and typography in particular. In 2011, he co-founded the Garbage Beauty movement, which involves writing beautifully calligraphed “philosophical poetry” on urban refuse. The project quickly took off, winning him the recognition of his peers. Attuned to the lessons that he learned from this endeavour, he co-founded in 2013 Les Hommes de Lettres, with which he set out to make his mark as an artist and creator.
Romain Box has developed an interest in the role of movement in creating conceptual works, which culminated in his two most recent canvases, Le Sentier Lumineux and La Montagne Sacrée. In recent years, he has also discovered an interest in mentoring through his participation in school workshops.
Vincent Box
Contemporary artist Vincent Box is a co-founder of GARBAGE BEAUTY, a very popular Montreal-based urban calligraphy collective with which he travels the world writing amusing messages on abandoned objects he encounters in his travels.
Vincent Box uses letters as images in his varied and complex compositions that blend messages, poetry, textures and symbols to create a unique language where fine arts take on a definite street flavour. In 2015, after exhibiting his work in such large urban centres as Paris, New York, Miami, Detroit and New Orleans as well as in Texas, he returned to the island of his birth, Île de la Réunion, whose bright colours complement local flavours.
He adorns the island’s walls in collaboration with other local artists like Abeil One and Méo, with whom he explores a range of figurative styles.
Newly settled in Edinburgh, Scotland, he is currently delighting his Montreal fans by taking part in SURFACES along with his friend and GARBAGE BEAUTY co-founder, Romain Boz.