I was lucky enough to be in Florence, Italy last Spring. I love wandering through cities taking images of street art, so I was delighted to find this quirky, art-enhanced traffic sign (see the image accompanying this post). I was recently on Reddit and saw a video of a street artist altering signs and I thought, "This looks so familiar, it has to be the same artist!" Turns out I was right – I looked up the artist and his name is Clet Abraham. He's a French-born artist who studied at École des Beaux-Arts in Rennes and currently lives and works in Florence. Artsper describes his work:
He redirects traffic signs in order to create unique work with bright colors, marked with a hint of humor. His work is based on criticizing the strictness of signage, therefore he gives these signs a more humanistic dimension which symbolize rules and regulations. It is in Florence that he began this redirection, he cuts stickers in advance and sticks them on panels in Italian streets and cities.
His work can now be seen on the streets of European capitals such as Paris, Rome, London, Turin, Milan or Barcelona.
To learn more about Clet Abraham, here's a profile of him (in French) from Filgoodnews, and here's a website where you can buy his paintings and prints.
