Antonin Katre French, b. 1977

Born in 1977 in Paris, Katre lives and works in the 14th arrondissement.
Trained in visual arts at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, he devoted his master’s thesis in 2003 to the Molitor swimming pool, an iconic site of abandoned urban architecture. Since his early graffiti work in the 1990s, Katre has developed an artistic practice that merges photography, painting, and installation.

His work is rooted in the exploration of industrial wastelands and derelict buildings, which he captures in stark black-and-white photographs. These images are later screen-printed onto materials such as brushed aluminum or wood, then overlaid with bold, colorful lettering—most notably the letter “K,” his signature motif.

Katre’s work offers a meditation on the memory of transforming urban spaces, blending traces of the past with a contemporary aesthetic. Alongside his studio practice, he is the author of Hors du temps (2005) and Hors du temps 2 (2012), books documenting urban artists working in abandoned sites.

He also co-founded the Faute O Graff association in Toulouse, which launched the annual Mister Freeze event, dedicated to urban art in repurposed locations.

In recent years, Katre has continued to expand his visual language through invitations from festivals, gallery exhibitions, and cultural site interventions. His practice—anchored in immersion, documentation, and artistic intervention—questions the memory of places in transition.

Straddling graffiti, photography, and installation, Katre’s work reflects on the transformation of urban environments and the role of art within those processes. In 2025, El Viso will publish his first monograph, From Urbex to Post-Graffiti.