Blek le rat, whose real name is Xavier Prou, is a French stencil artist, born in 1951 in Boulogne Billancourt. In 1972, he entered the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris. During a trip to New York during his studies, he finds his inspiration and starts to create. In 1977, he continued his studies and entered a school of architecture, which allowed him to better understand the urban environment and to adapt his works to it. In 1981, Xavier Prou began tagging in the streets with his friend Gerard and together they decided to use the pseudonym Blek, a name that comes from one of their favourite Italian comic strips, Blek le rock.
The band Blek decides to use stencils as a tool to create their own identity. Their favourite neighbourhoods for tagging are the 14th and 18th arrondissements of Paris. In 1982, Gerald abandoned the group Blek and it was at this point that Xavier Prou renamed himself Blek le rat. He decides to add “the rat” because he considers this animal to be the last one to be free in the city. So he first tags these small animals, then he starts tagging a series of characters, the first one being an old man with a cap. Amateur of travels, the latter leaves his trace in several countries such as the United States, Germany, Italy or Uruguay!
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The STREET ART department of Aguttes was created in 2011, in order to meet a growing demand on the art market. If you would like to include a work by Blek le rat, do not hesitate to contact Ophélie Guillerot (Neuilly sur Seine) or Agathe THOMAS (Lyon), who are in charge of the Street Art department of Aguttes.
