Thierry Noir 'On The Road To Happiness And Success' Print Application Open

Artist: Thierry Noir
Title: On The Road To Happiness And Success
Medium: 8 Color Screen Print
Size: 131 x 60 cm
Edition: 50
Prices: £1,800

 

Thierry Noir, born Thierry Noir in 1958 in Lyon, France, is a pioneering French artist and muralist celebrated for his vibrant, simplified aesthetic and his historic role in transforming the Berlin Wall into a canvas of resistance. In January 1982, drawn by the creative energy of West Berlin and inspired by musicians like David Bowie and Iggy Pop, he moved to the city with little more than two suitcases and a one-way train ticket. Living in a squat overlooking the Wall, he was struck by the oppressive, monochrome atmosphere and began painting it illegally in April 1984, becoming the first artist to do so.

Working under constant threat of arrest by East German border guards, Noir developed his now-iconic “Fast Form Manifest” style: bold, continuous black outlines filled with bright, flat colours, often completing murals in minutes. His figures elongated profiles with big noses and bulging eyes were not meant to beautify the Wall but to demystify and ridicule it, turning a symbol of division into one of defiance and freedom. Over five years, he painted more than three kilometres of the Wall, influencing fellow artists like Keith Haring and contributing to a movement that ultimately helped erode the Wall’s authority.

Since the Wall’s fall in 1989, Noir has exhibited worldwide, from London to Los Angeles, and his work has appeared in films like Wings of Desire and on the cover of U2’s Achtung Baby. Today, he continues to create murals and limited-edition prints, maintaining that art should remain a playful, rebellious act that challenges authority and spreads colour in the face of oppression.