Miss Van (born 1973 in Toulouse, France), also known as Vanessa Alice, is a graffiti and street artist. Miss Van started painting on the street of Toulouse alongside Mademoiselle Kat at the age of 18. Today, she is now internationally known as a street and fine artist. Primarily, her work is marked by the use of unique characters, called poupées, or dolls. Miss Van's work has appeared on streets internationally, although she also exhibits canvases in galleries across France, Europe and the United States.
Miss Van currently resides in Barcelona and has written and published several books with the publishing house Drago and coordinated several art shows across Europe. She remains one of the most famous female street and graffiti artists in the world, recognized as one of the top figures in early 21st-century street art canon.
Artwork
thumb|Miss Van with El Bocho's Little Lucy, Berlin 2009
In her artwork, Miss Van typically depicts sloe-eyed women, covering a varied array of female forms and expressing many different emotions. Common themes in her work include eroticism, sexuality, desire and innocence which are represented by animal masks, pastel colors, and revealing clothing. Over time the stylization of the women has changed, reflecting Miss Van's artistic and personal evolution as she has grown and matured. Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Montreal, Chicago and New York.
Critical reception
Thematically, her work has provoked a negative reaction from some feminists due to the portrayal of women in her graffiti. Despite negative critique of her work, some critics perceive her portrayal of sexuality and feminity as a powerful rejection of male supremacy and male-dominated art. Miss Van is regarded as one of the most famous female graffiti and street artists in the world, a genre that is generally considered as having few female artists.