What Is My Experience?
My name is Alex Kanos, a French mural artist and visual designer based near Paris. Since childhood, drawing has been more than a passion—it has been a way of observing and understanding the world. Long before I painted large-scale walls, I was fascinated by architecture, maps, typography and the visual language that shapes our cities. Those early interests gradually evolved into an artistic practice where mural painting, graphic design and urban culture naturally intersect.
Today, my work is recognised for combining contemporary figurative murals with cyberpunk aesthetics and decorative influences inspired by Art Nouveau. Although my visual language has evolved considerably over the years, every stage of my journey has contributed to building the artistic identity that defines my work today.
The begininngs
My introduction to graffiti came in 1999 while I was still in high school. At that time, graffiti represented far more than lettering or urban intervention. It was an entirely new visual language, offering freedom of expression on a monumental scale. Painting walls taught me lessons that no classroom could provide: how to compose images for large formats, how to work with architecture instead of against it, and how to adapt quickly to constantly changing environments.
These first years also developed a lasting fascination for cities themselves. Walls, abandoned factories, railway infrastructures and industrial districts became both my studio and my source of inspiration. Rather than seeing them as empty surfaces, I began to consider them as living environments carrying traces of history, transformation and human activity.
This relationship with the city still influences my work today. While my current murals have moved beyond traditional graffiti aesthetics, they continue to explore urban environments through architecture, layered compositions and visual storytelling.
Academic journey and artistic formation
After completing a scientific baccalaureate, I chose to dedicate myself entirely to visual arts by entering public Fine Arts schools in France. During five years of higher education, I developed both traditional artistic skills and advanced digital techniques, eventually graduating with both the DNAP and DNSEP degrees with honours.
These years fundamentally transformed my approach to image-making. Alongside painting, I explored graphic design, typography, photography, animation, video production and digital composition. Learning professional software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects expanded the possibilities of my artistic practice and encouraged me to move freely between physical and digital media.
My graduation projects already focused on themes that continue to shape my work today: urban perception, the visual organisation of cities, mapping systems, labyrinths and the accumulation of signs within public space. Rather than separating graphic design from fine art, I began developing a multidisciplinary practice where each discipline strengthened the others.
One of these research projects eventually became Paris Undaground, an experimental interface exploring the hidden underground networks beneath Paris. Another led to 48Nord 2Est, an urban intervention revealing invisible infrastructures directly within the streets themselves. Although these projects differed from mural painting, they established a methodology that still guides my work: observing the city, revealing hidden narratives and transforming them into visual experiences.


