KAÏ

Kaï is an American artist known for his use of cement and the iconic character Imaginary Friend. Kaï studied art in Europe and became a street artist at the age of 16. His work is exhibited in Paris, Aspen, Miami, and Los Angeles, integrating universal themes and values. He has collaborated with professional athletes and musicians on custom collections and group exhibitions.

Born in Los Angeles to a Franco-Tunisian father and an American-Mexican mother, Kai Guetta adopted the pseudonym Kaï. After high school, he studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he learned artistic disciplines and techniques. Kaï is widely recognized for his urban art found in his hometown of Los Angeles, across the United States, and abroad. He also creates paintings, sculptures, and limited edition collectibles.

Kaï's first piece to gain public attention was an urban art mural depicting a Marlboro cigarette pack with the term "Morons" replacing the brand name. During his teenage years, he continued to add graffiti in West Hollywood, often with an anti-consumerism message.

In 2012, he held his first solo exhibition at the Guetta Gallery in Los Angeles titled "Now Royalty," featuring paintings of hip-hop artists in medieval royal attire and motifs. Before creating the twenty-seven paintings, he trained in Italy and the Netherlands to study the works of Flemish masters. The collection took four years to complete.

In 2013, Kaï launched his solo exhibition "Lost Values" at the Lab Art Gallery in Los Angeles, where he subverted commercial imagery. In 2014, he took both exhibitions to Miami and displayed them at the Lulu Laboratorium. Pieces from the collection were sold to public figures in the hip-hop industry, including Lil Wayne and P. Diddy.

In 2013, Kaï organized a personal exhibition at the Louvre-Rivoli metro station in Paris. The exhibition featured cigarette pack sculptures with ironic slogans similar to his earlier works in Los Angeles, as well as baroque-style oil paintings of hip-hop icons from his "Now Royalty" collection. The exhibition was set up before the station's official opening and mimicked a real gallery, complete with pedestals for sculptures and secure frames for paintings. Some pieces specifically parodied works from the Louvre Museum.

In 2015, Kaï began collaborating with musician Chris Brown under the pseudonym "Konfused" to produce street art under the label "Konfuzed x Kai Collection," including two spray-painted Porsches for the Fine Art Auction during Miami's Urban Art Week, among other pieces auctioned that week. Seven pieces were created by the two artists over a three-day period. He also collaborated with NFL player Jarvis Landry on artwork in Wynwood, Miami.

At ART BASEL MIAMI in 2016, Kaï exhibited the installation piece "Modern Relic," and later that year, he displayed cement slabs in the city of Le Touquet Paris Plage in France. In August 2017, Kaï placed eight relief cement pieces on the exteriors of seven buildings in Aspen, Colorado, leading the city to consider legal action for intrusion and property damage concerns regarding the sites' heritage value.

In addition to gallery work, Kaï produces street art in several American cities, including Los Angeles and New York.

In September 2017, Kaï released a limited edition serigraphy titled "Love vs Money," featuring his character Imaginary Friend. This limited edition print sold out in 14 minutes. The same month, Kaï painted the facade of the Rag & Bone store on Houston Street in New York.

In June 2018, Kaï collaborated with French actor Kev Adams on the design of the Kev Adam Popup store.