Pablo Fontagnier

Just as the Cold War was heating up again, the working-class city of Mannheim decided to defy the odds and spit Pablo Fontagnier into the world in 1981. From day one, he had zero interest in going with the flow. He was riding trams without tickets before he could do long division, stealing gummy bears from corner shops, and tagging his ever-changing names on every wall he could reach. A textbook rebel with a marker. In the ‘90s, Hombre discovered his passion for drawing and painting—something that would soon test not only the limits of his school notebooks but also his mother’s patience. Graffiti quickly became his natural habitat. Influenced by childhood comic book heroes, a questionable amount of inhaled spray paint, and legendary writers like Can2, Atom, and Mode2, he developed his own bold and recognizable style. After school, Hombre stayed true to the art and built his career around it. Today, he can proudly call himself a trained illustrator and graphic designer. Since 2006, he’s been self-employed and has worked his magic for big names like Disney Germany, Casio, Pyromaniac Clothing, Eastpak, O2, and many more. But free art? That’s still where his heart is. Which is why his work has popped up in exhibitions from Shanghai to Pamplona, Berlin to Moscow, Jakarta and beyond.