Jisbar
Jisbar, born Jean-Baptiste Launay, is a distinguished artist renowned for his reinterpretations of iconic paintings and figures from art history.
Born in 1989, the French artist creates works that seamlessly blend elements of Pop art with influences drawn from fashion, music, street art, and skateboard culture, producing vibrant, captivating compositions.
Jisbar's artworks transcend mere remakes by incorporating elements such as words, slogans, numbers, and codes, that create compelling narratives. His style encourages viewers to take more than one glance, guiding them to discover their own clues and interpretations. With a plethora of signs and symbols, Jisbar's paintings offer infinite possibilities, allowing spectators to constantly uncover new layers of meaning.
In 2019, Jisbar made headlines by becoming the first artist to send a painting into space. His punk rock rendition of da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" orbited the Earth for nearly two hours. His portfolio also includes collaborations with brands such as BMW and Giorgio Armani, as well as partnerships with recording artists like DJ Snake and Cardi B.
Jisbar's unique style has earned him widespread critical acclaim, leading to exhibitions held across the globe. His works have been featured in galleries and institutions in France, Belgium, the USA, London, Bangkok, Taiwan, Italy, and Dubai. Including exhibitions at esteemed institutions such as the National Museum for the History of Immigration in Paris, the Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi, and Le Louvre in Paris.
Jisbar is also known for his various collaborations with renowned brands such as BMW, Armani or JM Weston, and he has contributed to create unique experiences on every one of these occasions. Among all of these memorable events, he organized an exhibition with JM Weston on the Champs Élysées. Jisbar put an exciting new spin on the brand’s identity by incorporating his art inside the flagship store and customizing several of their famous shoes to turn them into true art pieces.
The Galerie Montmartre in Paris hosted the “First Painting in Space” exhibition and showcased the painting that had been sent into space a few weeks before, as a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci on the 500th anniversary of his death. This punk Mona Lisa was propelled into the stratosphere 33.4 km above the Earth for over 1 hour and a half. This world premiere was also a technical exploit: sending a piece of art to be exhibited where no painting had been exhibited before. It took seven months to put every element together, from developing a helium balloon and finding the right materials for the painting to creating the custom-made basket it would hang from. “Punk Mona” was launched and the whole performance recorded by a camera attached to the basket. This brand-new perspective in showing art was applauded as a success and the artist’s performance became a worldwide sensation in the media.
As a committed artist, Jisbar takes action every year to help universal causes such as the protection of nature and animals and the fight against racism. More recently he participated in the #RaceAgainstCovid campaign organized by Ducati.
He worked closely with the Italian brand and donated his piece “Ducati Mona Lisa” at a charity auction to raise 170.000€ for the Sant’Orsola Polyclinic hospital in Bologna. His last performance paid tribute to Leonardo da Vinci on the 500th anniversary of his death. Jisbar sent a new version of his reinterpreted Mona Lisa to fly into space. The painting hovered 33.4 km above Earth for over an hour and a half. On this occasion he became the first ever artist to achieve this performance. His technical exploit was widely applauded though international media coverage.
In April of 2022, Jisbar’s release of the "Mona Lisa" in space was celebrated once more, as he was approached by The Musée Louvre to become part of their newest interactive exhibit, “La Joconde.”This exhibition will travel around the world over the course of a decade.
Shortly after the announcement of his participation in “LA Joconde,” Jisabr shared a hand-painted Formula 1 car in honor of Ayrton Senna. The car was painted by Jisbar is Faenza and was exposed during the Grand Prix of Imola in the circuit of Enzo and Dino Ferrari. The car will be later exhibited at the Biennale of Venice with a supporting NFT project.
