Page 4 - Poze Magazine Volume 72

LUCIEN TRAPART

by Ben E Zander
On November 11, 2023, I ventured to
Happen Space Art Gallery in Chicago to Photos by Ben E Zander
speak with Lucien Caillouet, aka Lucien
TrapArt, about art, style, fashion, food, Today, Lucien greets me warmly before we
motivation, and his journey through life. sit down and delve into his matriculation as
The gallery owned by homie Rodney Duran an artist. He describes his process: “I think
features studio and exhibition spaces for of my art as if pop art and street art had a
distinctive contemporary art pieces, among baby. I paint a lot of pop-culture icons, but I
them Lucien’s work. use street art elements. I also take parts
from screen printing, build a screen onto the
The first time I laid eyes on a Lucien TrapArt canvas, and then I peel it off, every layer.
original more than five years ago, Lucien
was putting the finishing touches on a wild- It’s a little bit more like screen printing than
looking, graffiti- laden Chris Farley it is stencil art.” Now, the celebrity element
portrayal. After he pulled the final layers of Lucien employs isn’t the only reason his
tape from the painstakingly layered masks, work slaps. There’s a guiding philosophy
his eyes scanning for any imperfections, he embedded in his psyche that instructs how
beamed at its completion. Lucien he forms his canvas, from start to finish. “I
transforms images of iconic personalities, try to use some sort of sacred geometry in
and moments of pop-culture performance, each piece, just because I like it..
committing himself to manifesting their
portraited personalities. P O Z E M A G A Z I N E