Shown for the first time in tandem, this exhibition highlights the surprising parallels between the practices of two pioneers of Street Art: San Francisco muralist Scott Williams and French New Realist décollage master Jacques Villeglé. Large and important works from Williams's oeuvre spanning 1986 to 2005 are paired with sizeable Villeglé masterpieces from the late 1970s and 1980s. Both artists were not only creators but archivists who utilized found material, creating visual records of their times with layered compositions featuring color, text, portraits, and pop culture iconography. Despite their different approaches—Williams bringing art to the streets through hand-stenciled murals, Villeglé taking art from the streets through collected and torn posters—both transcended street art classification and achieved recognition in the formal art world.
