Guillaume Grando, better known as SupaKitch, is a celebrated French artist whose work spans multiple disciplines and draws inspiration from sports and street art. His creations, which often feature themes of the ocean and water, seamlessly combine graphics, painting, and design. Now based in Biarritz, Europe's surfing capital, his art is profoundly influenced by the sea and his ongoing exploration of movement.
From Street Art to a Career as an Artist
Guillaume Grando, known as SupaKitch, was born in 1978 in Paris and has been passionate about various forms of art and culture from a young age. Music, manga, and the hip-hop scene played significant roles in his life and influenced his later artistic career. He first encountered graffiti at the age of 12, captivated by the raw appearance of urban walls and their potential for artistic expression.
After studying graphic design and art direction, Guillaume Grando simultaneously pursued several other artistic disciplines. He collaborated with galleries in France and internationally, creating murals for institutions and well-known brands. During this period, he met his future wife, Koralie, who encouraged him to hold his first exhibitions in the early 2000s, leading to the birth of his name, SupaKitch. Since then, she has been his inspiration and collaborator in his artistic career.
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From a young age, Guillaume Grando was intensely involved in various sports, including tennis. He also tried football and basketball, but tennis was the first sport that truly captivated him. Although he only played until he was 12, it remained his favorite because it held some personal memories. He views sport in general, whether it's skateboarding, surfing, or basketball, as part of a broader culture where sport and art intersect. For him, sport is a lifestyle that can also serve as a means of expressing creativity.
In his artworks, SupaKitch often incorporates sports themes drawn from personal experiences and memories. When he created his first graffiti on the wall of a tennis club in Montpellier in 1990, it was a significant personal milestone. This moment connects his personal story with his series of paintings titled Flooded - The Tennis Courts, which depict tennis courts submerged in water.
These artworks present various colorful variations of flooded tennis courts from an overhead perspective. The courts become a visual metaphor for changing rules that can be transcended and imposed systems that can appear dysfunctional and illusory. SupaKitch’s motto in his work is 'In art, the only rule is to break the rules.' The idea of breaking uncompromising rules extends beyond tennis to the entire social system. Rules and systems often seem rigid and relentless, but a shift in perspective can reveal new possibilities and opportunities. A flooded court is unsuitable for tennis, rendered dysfunctional by water, and useless in the context of the sport. However, imagining the court as a swimming pool transforms its purpose and significance, turning it into something unique and valuable.
Part of the series features a surreal design of a tennis racket, where the traditional stringing is replaced by a basket-like net. Here, sports equipment is used as a metaphor for an art object. Instead of viewing it as useless, he considered how it could be repurposed and adapted to new functions. This touches on the idea that even seemingly unnecessary objects can gain new meaning and function when viewed creatively and with a fresh perspective.
The inspiration for this series came on a day when the artist was invited to Roland Garros. Rainy weather and canceled matches allowed him to observe empty, flooded tennis courts, suddenly devoid of purpose and function. This situation led him to the idea that a new layer, formed by water, could represent a new purpose.
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Inspired by the Ocean
Water and water surfaces are characteristic elements in SupaKitch's work. His early pieces featured more animal and plant motifs, reminiscent of street art and murals. However, after 2011, he began working with resin, creating works distinguished by transparent water surfaces, focusing on the play of light.
SupaKitch currently lives in Biarritz, a well-known surfing resort. His love for surfing is evident in many of his works. This sport-inspired him so much that it led him to develop new forms of artistic expression and techniques similar to those used in making surfboards. The ocean and its visual effects, such as reflections and the colors of the seawater, inspired him to create a series that capture the movement and energy of the waves. He uses colorful resins that give his works depth and dynamism. Light reflections on the water's surface and changing colors have become key elements of his abstract and figurative paintings.
Guillaume Grando has a rich and diverse career, showcasing his curiosity and enthusiasm for creation. His artistic style is constantly evolving, drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources, such as graffiti, design, the ocean, and traditional crafts. His works exude a positive relationship with nature and a penchant for experimenting with different materials. Guillaume moves fluidly between painting, sculpture, and graffiti, continuously seeking new ways to express his perception of the world.
Guillaume Grando (b. 1978), known as SupaKitch, began with graffiti at the age of 12 and graduated in graphic design in Montpellier in 1997, where he grew up. After spending time in New York from 2008 to 2012 and then in Paris from 2012 to 2016, he has now settled in Biarritz, a surfer’s paradise, where he lives and works.
His adolescence was influenced by hip-hop, design, architecture, and street art culture, leading to the creation of his first paintings between 2006 and 2011, which he called "Listen To My Picture," approaching painting as a form of graphic melody. This period was followed by several prominent exhibitions in Paris, Miami, and at the Muriel Guépin Gallery in New York.
From his graffiti and mural work in 1990, SupaKitch continued to expand his canvas. His works are often created in collaboration with his wife, Koralie, who is also an artist. SupaKitch has worked with major brands and significant institutions, such as the Museum of World Cultures in Gothenburg in 2010 and Converse in Paris in 2014. His background in graphic design has also led to prestigious collaborations with companies like Figaret, BMW/Bleu De Chauffe, and IKEA, in partnership with Virgil Abloh.
Between 2012 and 2017, he built a strong reputation in the world of tattooing, but gradually moved away from figurative painting to focus on what he considers fundamental: gesture, movement, light, and material. This shift was influenced by his experiences with surfing and experimentation in art. A turning point was his 2017 exhibition "On My Wave Home" at Kolly Gallery in Zurich, where he created works using resin. This approach had a minimalist vision, but the works remained rich and complex through the interplay of materials and light. Today, his work is exhibited across Europe, Asia, and the United States.
