SEATY: Street Art, Paintings, Biography and Artworks by the Artist
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SEATY is a French artist born in 1983 whose work lies at the crossroads of graffiti, Street Art and contemporary figurative painting. Recognisable for his predominantly black-and-white portraits enhanced with vivid colours, SEATY’s paintings combine realistic faces with spray paint, acrylic, drips and graphic elements directly inspired by urban culture. Now based in Dubai, where he opened his studio in 2022, SEATY works on canvas as well as wood, cardboard, urban signs, vehicles and various objects. Since 2024, his artistic practice has also expanded into sculpture. Class Art Biarritz presents a selection of works by the artist. Discover SEATY paintings and artworks available from our online gallery.
Who is SEATY?
SEATY was born in France in 1983 and grew up in the south of France. His artistic journey began within the urban culture of the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly influenced by hip-hop and graffiti. A self-taught artist, he created his first works in the street, where graffiti became his initial form of artistic expression. This urban background also explains his artist name: SEATY directly refers to the word “city”, as the city was his first creative environment. In 2010, he decided to devote himself fully to his artistic career. This marked his gradual transition from the street to the studio and from walls to canvas. However, SEATY did not abandon the visual language developed through graffiti. Instead, he incorporated it into a much more structured form of figurative painting. His first solo exhibition took place in 2015. Since then, his work has been presented in various galleries and exhibitions, while the artist has also developed murals, installations and collaborations. To discover more about his career, read our SEATY biography and presentation of his artistic universe.
SEATY: from graffiti to painting
The transition from graffiti to canvas is essential to understanding SEATY’s paintings. Rather than abandoning Street Art culture in favour of academic painting, the artist retains several elements directly inherited from his urban practice. Spray paint and stencils remain among his preferred tools. Drips, splashes, layers of colour and graphic interventions also evoke surfaces painted in the street. At the same time, portraiture has gradually become central to his compositions. This combination forms the basis of SEATY’s distinctive style today: one part of the painting is precisely figurative, while other areas retain a much freer and more spontaneous visual language. SEATY also works on a wide variety of surfaces. His official website mentions canvas, wood, cardboard, urban signs and vehicles. Documented projects include a Mini Clubman painted in Monaco, a transformed telephone box in Courchevel, a mural in Cannes and a monumental façade in Dreux.
How to recognise a SEATY painting
Several distinctive characteristics regularly appear in SEATY’s paintings. The first is portraiture. The artist frequently depicts men and women whose faces form the central focus of the composition. Expressions, and particularly the subjects’ eyes, play an important role in his choice of imagery. A second characteristic is the use of black and white. Faces are often rendered in shades of grey with a high degree of realism, contrasting with much more colourful areas. Headwear, hair, clothing and backgrounds become spaces for graphic experimentation. Yellow, red, pink, orange, purple, blue and green appear as blocks of colour, splashes, drips or spray-painted marks. Finally, SEATY regularly combines realism and abstraction. The face remains recognisable and precisely constructed, while its surroundings fragment into gestures, traces and colours. This contrast between monochrome portraiture and vibrant interventions has become one of the most recognisable features of SEATY’s art.
Faces at the heart of SEATY’s artworks
SEATY’s visual research is largely based on portraits inspired by cultures and regions from around the world. Headwear, clothing and accessories help visually situate the characters, while the titles of his works regularly refer to cities or places. Titles such as Hanoi, Niamey, Tokyo, Kingston, Luanda, Bronx and Dwarka can be found throughout his work. This geographical dimension does not, however, transform the paintings into narrative scenes. SEATY generally focuses the composition on a single person and their expression. The location is suggested primarily through the title, clothing or particular visual attributes. This series of portraits allows the artist to maintain a relatively consistent pictorial structure while varying faces, colours, cultures and formats.
Hanoi: a painting characteristic of SEATY’s style
Hanoi provides a clear example of how a SEATY painting is constructed. In Hanoi by SEATY, available from Class Art Biarritz, the artist depicts an Asian woman looking backwards. Her face is rendered in black and white, while her conical hat concentrates much of the colour in the composition. The yellow, orange and red tones of the hat contrast directly with the monochrome face. The artwork is created with spray paint and acrylic on cardboard and measures 73 × 60 cm. It is a unique artwork accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the artist. Hanoi therefore brings together several defining elements of SEATY’s work: realistic portraiture, monochrome treatment of the face, concentrated areas of colour and techniques originating in urban art.
Niamey: portrait, colour and spray paint
Niamey (2022) by SEATY is another artwork that clearly demonstrates the artist’s technique. This unique 135 × 85 cm work is created with spray paint and acrylic on canvas. SEATY depicts a young woman whose face appears predominantly in black and white. Her red and pink turban creates the first striking contrast with the monochrome portrait. Her hair then becomes a freer pictorial space filled with acrylic drips, colourful interventions and spray-painted elements. The contrast between figurative portraiture and gestures inherited from graffiti is particularly visible in this artwork: rather than being separated, the two visual languages are layered within the same composition.
Habano and SEATY’s male portraits
Although female portraits feature prominently in SEATY’s work, the artist also depicts men. Habano, for example, portrays an elderly man wearing a hat and smoking a cigar. As in much of SEATY’s work, the face is rendered realistically, while colours and graphic interventions introduce another visual layer more directly associated with Street Art. The choice of older subjects also enables SEATY to explore wrinkles, skin textures, beards and the marks of time, elements particularly well suited to his realistic approach to portraiture.
Dwarka: male portraiture meets urban art
This approach can also be seen in Dwarka (2023) by SEATY, a unique artwork created with spray paint and acrylic on a wooden panel. Measuring 120 × 90 cm, the painting depicts an elderly man whose face and beard are rendered in black and white. A purple turban introduces a strong burst of colour into the composition, while the background and drips bring back the graphic codes associated with Street Art. The choice of support is also significant: SEATY does not restrict his practice to traditional canvas and uses wooden panels as a pictorial surface.
Tokyo: spray paint and acrylic on cardboard
Tokyo (2023) by SEATY incorporates several of the artist’s characteristic techniques in a large 156 × 126 cm format. This unique work on cardboard depicts a young Asian woman. Her black-and-white face is combined with a red and pink fan, while her hair features drips, colours and spray-painted interventions. The use of cardboard is particularly interesting because it reflects SEATY’s interest in experimenting with surfaces beyond traditional canvas. The support itself becomes another element of an artistic practice rooted in graffiti, where the artist originally learned to work across a wide variety of surfaces.
Skateboards and skimboards as artistic supports
SEATY also transfers his portraits onto objects associated with urban culture and board sports. Class Art Biarritz notably presents YAO – Skateboard by SEATY, where the skateboard itself becomes the support for the artwork. The artist has also worked on skimboards. This diversification of materials forms part of a broader practice that has led SEATY to work on signs, wood, vehicles and installations. The principle nevertheless remains consistent: although the support changes, portraiture and the contrast between black and white and vivid colours maintain a strong visual continuity with his paintings.
Is SEATY a Street Art artist?
SEATY’s work is historically rooted in graffiti and Street Art. His artistic practice began in the street, and spray paint remains one of his principal tools. His current work, however, is no longer limited to Street Art in the strict sense of artwork created in public spaces. SEATY produces works intended for galleries and private collections, creates paintings on canvas, cardboard and wood, and has also developed sculptures and installations. His work therefore occupies a distinctive position at the intersection of graffiti, urban art and contemporary figurative painting.
Techniques used by SEATY
SEATY primarily combines spray paint and acrylic in the artworks presented by Class Art Biarritz. Spray paint creates a direct connection with his graffiti origins and enables him to produce areas of colour, diffusion effects, layers and graphic interventions. Acrylic is particularly visible in drips, splashes and various coloured areas. However, techniques vary depending on the individual artwork and support. To determine the exact technique used for a particular SEATY painting, it is therefore important to refer to the artwork’s description and certificate of authenticity rather than applying a general description to his entire body of work.
From painting to sculpture
Sculpture represents a more recent development in SEATY’s artistic career. In March 2024, during DIFC Art Nights in Dubai, the artist presented his first large-scale sculptures. Two works entitled Hanoi and Kingston were notably exhibited. This evolution is consistent with his progressive diversification of artistic supports. After walls, canvas, wood, urban signs, vehicles and various objects, the portrait moves beyond the flat surface to become three-dimensional. Sculpture has not replaced SEATY’s paintings, but it now represents another aspect of his artistic practice.
SEATY and Dubai
Dubai now occupies an important place in SEATY’s career. The artist opened his studio there in 2022. His official website currently locates his activity in Dubai Silicon Oasis, United Arab Emirates. The city also features prominently in his exhibition history. SEATY participated in World Art Dubai in 2022 and DIFC Art Nights in 2024. His move to Dubai reflects the growing international dimension of his career while providing him with a studio from which he continues to develop both painting and sculpture.
Where to see and buy a SEATY painting
SEATY’s artworks are presented by various galleries and also circulate on the contemporary art market. Class Art Biarritz offers a selection of SEATY paintings and artworks, including unique works on canvas, cardboard and wooden panels, as well as creations on skateboards and skimboards. When buying a SEATY artwork, several details are important for identifying the piece accurately: title, year, technique, dimensions, support, whether it is a unique artwork or an edition, and the presence of a certificate of authenticity. It is particularly important to distinguish unique works from editions, as not all SEATY creations have the same status. Browse SEATY paintings and artworks currently available for sale at Class Art Biarritz.
SEATY: key dates
SEATY was born in France in 1983. In the early 2000s, he developed his graffiti practice and began creating work in urban spaces. In 2010, he decided to devote himself fully to art and progressively developed his studio practice. His first solo exhibition took place in 2015. In 2018, he notably customised a Mini Clubman in Monaco. In 2019, he created a monumental mural in Dreux. In 2022, SEATY opened his studio in Dubai and participated in World Art Dubai. In 2024, he presented his first large-scale sculptures, Hanoi and Kingston, during DIFC Art Nights in Dubai.
SEATY paintings and artworks at Class Art Biarritz
SEATY’s work can be recognised through a recurring combination of realistic portraits, predominantly rendered in black and white, with vivid colours, drips, spray paint and graphic elements inherited from graffiti. His artistic journey helps explain this distinctive approach. SEATY emerged from street culture and graffiti but has developed a studio practice over the years encompassing figurative painting, unconventional supports and, more recently, sculpture. Class Art Biarritz presents a variety of formats and media that illustrate this evolution. Discover our selection of SEATY paintings and artworks in the Class Art Biarritz online gallery and explore SEATY’s biography and artistic career.
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