Thirteenth & First

Artist Spotlight: Thomas 'Zeso' Obaton

Zeso's work on 400 E 13th St, NYC.

What’s your background?

Zeso: My first contact with graffiti was in my home town of Lyon, France around 1995. With some friends and my older sister, I started by tagging the street around the neighborhood we came from.

Around 2001, I gradually moved into creating street art with bigger and more colorful compositions.

In 2005, I moved to New York where I developed a more personal style. I kept the graffiti base, added some more character and element, then composed the graphic universe of my work.

In 2016, I was deported back to France. I started to focus my work on canvas more than on walls to work on a solo exhibition called “2005-2016 Deported”, where I painted my ten years of memories in the United States.

I currently live in Barcelona, Spain.

What’s the story behind these pieces?

Zeso: The wall on the left is commission work from a barbershop close by, On The Mark. The owner told me that he liked to play music and offer his customers expensive liquor, so I made sure to add bottles and a boombox with the character.

The wall in the middle was part of a promotional event for a night club. I been contacted by a woman working for night club to help promote a special event with DJ and ballerina. I kept my painting of the DJ up, but I have since painted over the ballerina with new work.

My last piece on the right started with simple sketches from the day before. I had an idea to create lettering with its base stuck to a light house. I thought it would be interesting to paint here because the brick wall and the lettering would have a contrast of color and texture.

What inspires you?

Zeso: After painting for over 20 years, I have never found any reason to paint other than to simply have fun. There are no is political or ideological messages behind my art work walls, and I want keep it like this, I don’t want to pollute my passion with something than can affect the joy of simple paint.

So, maybe, the inspiration behind my work is just to continue the journey of having good a time and trying new things with color and texture. 

What are you working on now?

Zeso: I started visiting Japan over 20 years ago. Last winter alone I spent almost 3 months there. I find this country very interesting and beautiful, and it’s influenced my work a lot. I wanted an exhibition showing the inspiration that this culture has on my painting, and I’ve spent the past 6 months locked in my studio, spending all of my time working on it. The opening will be in May.

Find more of Zeso's work on Instagram.