Kai Guetta
Quick Facts
Biography
Kai Guetta (also known as Kai and Kai Aspire), is an American artist.
Early life and education
Born in Los Angeles, Kai Guetta goes by the pseudonym Kai, as well as Kai Aspire. After high school he studied at the l'École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and eventually moved back to LA.
Career
Kai's first piece to receive public attention was a street art mural of a Marlboro cigarette pack with the term “Morons” replacing the brand’s name. During his teenage years, he continued to add graffiti pieces to surfaces in West Hollywood, typically with an anti-consumerism message.
In 2012 he held his first solo exhibition at the Guetta Gallery in Los Angeles entitled Now Royalty, which consisted of paintings representing hip hop artists in medieval royal outfits and motifs. Prior to the creation of the twenty-seven paintings, he trained in Italy and Holland in order to study the work of the Flemish Masters. In all the collection took four years to create. In 2013 Kai debuted his solo exhibition Lost Values at the Lab Art Gallery in Los Angeles, in which he spoofs commercial imagery. In 2014 Kai took both of his exhibitions to Miami, in order to exhibit them at the Lulu Laboratorium. Pieces from the collection have since sold to public figures in the hip hop industry, including Lil Wayne and P. Diddy.
In 2013 Kai held a guerilla solo exhibition in the Louvre-Rivoli station of the Paris metro. The exhibition featured sculptures of cigarette packets with ironic slogans similar to the pieces he first created in LA, and the Baroque-style oil paintings of hip hop icons from his Now Royalty collection. The exhibition was set-up before the station opened as it had not been officially authorized by the city. Each piece was arranged as if it were in a real gallery, with pedestals for the sculpture pieces and secured frames for the paintings. Some of the pieces parodied the work within the Louvre Museum specifically.
In 2015 Kai began partnering with musical artist Chris Brown, under the pseudonym Konfused, to produce street art pieces under the label Konfuzed x Kai collection. The two spray-painted Porsche vehicles for Fine Art Auction Miami’s Urban Art Week, in addition to several other pieces. These pieces were then auctioned during the week. Seven pieces were created by the two in all over a three-day period. He has also partnered with NFL player Jarvis Landry for artwork in Wynwood, Miami.
At the 2016 Art Basel Miami, Kai exhibited the installation piece Modern Relic, and later that year he exhibited cement plaques in the city of Le Touquet, France. In August 2017 Kai affixed eight cement-relief pieces on the exteriors of seven buildings in Aspen, Colorado, causing the city to consider citing him for trespassing and destruction of property after his methods were seen as possibly damaging to the heritage value of the sites.
In addition to gallery work, Kai has produced street art in several American cities, including Los Angeles and New York City.
In September 2017 Kai issue a limited edition serigraphy of "Love vs Money", one of his messages using the character IF (Imaginary Friend). . This Limited edition print sold out in 14 minutes
The same month Kai painted the façade of Rag & Bone’s store in New York Houston Street.