CURRENT OFFERING: ZEVS

Release 21/06/2026

French artist Zevs (born Christophe Aguirre Schwarz) is a pivotal figure in the street art movement, renowned for his bold interventions in urban space and his critical engagement with branding and consumer culture. Born in Saverne, France, in 1977, he lives and works in Paris.

Zevs began his career as a graffiti artist in Paris during the 1990s, operating under various pseudonyms including “The Shadow Flasher” and “The Serial Ad Killer.” His chosen name, “Zevs” — pronounced “Zeus” — references a train that nearly ran him over while tagging in 1992.

Emerging from the Parisian street art scene alongside artists such as André and Invader, Zevs quickly established himself as one of the leading figures of contemporary urban art. He is best known for his signature “Liquidation” technique, through which familiar logos and images appear to melt or drip, destabilizing symbols of power, luxury, and mass consumption. Across graffiti, paintings, installations, and performances, his work subverts the visual language of advertising and questions the pervasive influence of corporate and media culture in the 21st century.

From city streets to gallery walls, Zevs engages with urban signs and consumer codes, exploring the intersections between public space, art, commerce, and identity. His interventions have included the staged “kidnapping” of a figure from a billboard, his widely publicized arrest after creating a large-scale liquidated Chanel logo mural in Hong Kong, and the “Visual Violations” series, in which iconic figures such as Jim Morrison and Marilyn Monroe were deliberately blurred. Through these works, Zevs examines the enduring power of both celebrity imagery and global corporate logos — from Louis Vuitton and Coca-Cola to Apple — within contemporary culture.

In 2008, Zevs held his first solo museum exhibition, Electroshock, at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. The exhibition brought together works from his major series alongside masterpieces from the museum’s permanent collection, including works by Édouard Manet and Auguste Rodin.

In 2009, he presented his first solo exhibition in Asia, Liquidated Logos, at Art Statements in Hong Kong, showcasing his distortions of globally recognizable brands. In 2010, his work was featured in the Moscow Biennale. In 2011, Zevs held his first solo exhibition in New York, Liquidated Version, at De Buck Gallery. Continuing his critique of corporate influence and financial power, the exhibition featured liquidated versions of logos from brands such as Coca-Cola and Louis Vuitton, as well as financial institutions including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and Goldman Sachs.

In 2016, expanding his exploration of dripping and dissolved imagery, Zevs introduced another landmark body of work: the Big Oil Splash series, also known as Swimming Pools, inspired by David Hockney’s iconic 1967 painting A Bigger Splash. First unveiled at Lazarides Gallery, the series offers a sharp critique of globalization, environmental exploitation, and the oil industry.

Over the years, Zevs’s work has been featured in numerous museum exhibitions, including at the Palais de Tokyo, Centre Pompidou, and the Louvre in Paris, as well as MoCA Shanghai, Hangaram Art Museum, and Ulsan Museum in Seoul. In 2027, the artist will be the subject of a major retrospective at the Woods Art Institute in Hamburg.

Selected Solo Shows:

·   2026/2027 – Upcoming

CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China – Project under discussion

Retrospective, Woods Art Institute (WAI), Hamburg, Germany – (March - August, 2027)

“In Liquid Memoriam”, La Piscine / Passerelle, Brest, France – (November 2026 - July, 2027)

“Paris, Z Protocol”, New Galerie, Paris, France – Date to be confirmed

Retrospective, Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai (MoCA Shanghai) – Date to be confirmed

“Choix Art Z”, Pavillon de L’Hermitage, Paris, France – Date to be confirmed

A commissioned sculpture will be created as part of an artist residency at Renault Group’s new factory, Boulogne-Billancourt, France – Date to be confirmed

The work The Wedding at Cana is currently being presented by Invisible Galerie at the Venice Biennale, Italy (May 9-November 22, 2026)

·   2025

“Zevs: New Works”, Watowa Gallery, Tokyo, Japan – (December 5, 2025 - February 1, 2026)

“Sans Titre (permanent)”, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France – A multi-phase project featuring new installations and performances unveiled monthly, both inside the galleries and outside the building, leading up to the museum’s temporary closure for renovations  

“Sombras Electricas”, Alliance Française, Havana, Cuba

·   2024

“Minimal Painting”, Galerie Torri, Paris, France

“Visual Overdose”, Art installation at Art Basel Paris, The Invisible Gallery, Paris, France

“Temporary Sanctuary”, Over the Influence Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand

·   2023

“Room 711”, Hangaram Art Museum - Seoul Art Centers, Seoul, South Korea

“Voleur d’Image - Magie du Louvre”, Musée du Louvre, Paris France

·   2022

“Le Serpent Cosmique”, Lille3000 - Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse, Lille, France

“Tumultes”, La Collégiale Saint-Pierre-le-Puellier, curated by Danysz Gallery, Orléans, France

“Berlin, nos années 20”, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France

·   2021

“Oikos Logos”, MAMO Centre d’Art de la Cité Radieuse, Marseille, France

“Phillip Morris Still Life Locked Room” - permanent installation, CCA Andratx, Mallorca, Spain

“The Last Cowboy is Dead”, New Galerie, Paris, France

·   2019

“15th Biennale de Lyon”, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Lyon France

“Aguirre Schwarz Savoure le Rouge”, New Galerie, Paris, France

·   2018

“Aguirre Schwarz aka Zevs: Supreme Même”, Over the Influence Gallery, Hong Kong, China

·   2017

“Zevs: Liquid Assets”, Taglialatella Galleries, New York, USA

·   2016

“Noir Éclair”, Château de Vincennes, Vincennes, France

“The Big Oil Splash”, Lazarides Gallery, London, UK

·   2015

“Zevs: Elle”, De Buck Gallery, New York, USA

”Aguirre Schwarz au Pays de l’Or Noir”, Galerie Rive Gauche, Marcel Strouk, Paris France

“The Autobiography of Aguirre Schwarz. An Exhibition by Zevs”, CCA Andratx, Mallorca, Spain

Selected Group Shows:

·   2026 – Upcoming

“Paris, Beyond the Streets”, La Villette, Paris, France – (May 27 - August 30) 

·   2025

“The Line”, Underdogs Gallery, Paris, France

“Effets Indésirables (Side Effects)”, New Gallery, Paris, France

“Shared Horizons”, X Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba

·   2024

“Why is Urban Art Now: From Bangucheon to Urban Art”, Ulsan Art Museum, Ulsan, South Korea

“Monomythology”, The Hole Gallery, New York, USA

“Netflix and Chill”, New Gallery, Paris, France

“2024 Urban Art Biennale”, Völklingen Ironworks (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Völklingen, Germany

“Sous Influence”, New Gallery, Paris, France

·   2023

“BIENALSUR”, Babel Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain

“Module of Temporality (MOT)”, Danysz Gallery - launch of new cultural center, Kiev, Ukraine

·   2022

“Capitales: 60 d’art urbain à Paris”, Hôtel de Ville, Paris, France

“Wonderwalls”, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf - Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany

“2022 Urban Art Biennale”, Völklingen Ironworks (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Völklingen, Germany

·   2021

“Swimming Pool - Troubled Water”, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

·   2020

“Wall”, Urban Spree, Berlin, Germany

“Aguirre Schwarz / Zevs: Atone Etoile”, Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France

·   2019

“Post Contemporary - Urban Graphics 7019 ”, Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Shanghai , China

“Who Cares”, New Galerie, Paris, France

·   2018

“Art From The Streets”, ArtScience Museum, Singapore, Singapore

·   2017

“What’s Up Doc”, New Galerie, Paris, France

“Dessins Perturbateurs”, Galerie Métropolis, Paris, France

·   2016

“Painting Is Dead. Long Live Painting”, CCA Andratx, Mallorca, Spain

·   2015

“Summer in the City”, Martin Asbaek Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark