"Jean-Michel likes serious things, but he doesn’t particularly like taking them seriously. His universe works through accumulation. Everyday objects, toys, skeletons, references to cartoons, current events and art history pile up, collide and respond to one another. (...)

At COLORS 26, Jean-Michel takes this exploration towards the world of still life and vanitas. He draws on the tradition of old paintings, particularly Dutch ones, in which very ordinary objects were already used to talk about the passing of time, life and death.

Except that, in the meantime, a few centuries of popular culture have gone by. His vanitas have been eating “bonbecs” - sweets and candy, as he puts it.

The colours are delicious, the skulls aren’t really frightening, and nothing ever becomes truly gloomy. Yet behind this apparent lightness, the substance is very much there. Life and death cross paths. Current events make an appearance, while art history slips into the details." (description from COLOR Urban Art Festival homepage)

Jean-Michel Ouvry was among the artists who participated in the 8th edition of the COLORS Urban Art Festival 2026 in Strasbourg. Under the artistic direction of Stom500, the festival brings together urban artists each year, inviting them to create murals at a specially selected site.

The 8th edition of the festival took place at the AFPA training center in Strasbourg. The ten participating artists included Hera, Olivia de Bona, Koga, Rero, Fork One, Missy, FloaFleur, Friture de Style, Loïc Lusnia, and Jean-Michel Ouvry.