I'd visited Paris on and off since about 1985 before coming to live here in 1991. Funnily enough, 1985 is the year that Paella Chimicos, also known as spanish-born artist Michel Palacios (one is the anagram of the other) started to paste his trademark enigmatic squirl-headed cartoon figures around the capital.

Taking his inspiration from the student movement of May 1968 - both for the political/surreal tone of the posters and the rebellious way of posting on walls - Paella has continued to draw and paint, with over fifty exhibitions to his name so far.

His latest exhibition is to be found at off-the-beaten-track gallery Le Cabinet d'Amateur between Bastille and Nation, and is called "Rue 1985-1990", exactly the time that I first saw his stuff. In that period, he stuck 15,000 posters around the city, following a very strict route (Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Marais, Beaubourg-les-Halles), almost as if marking his territory.

For those of you who have been back to the city a few times, perhaps these posters will bring back happy memories, like they did for me?!

Here's all the essential information you need for the Paella: Rue 1985-1990 exhibition in Paris

When: 26th February - 16th March 2008 (however, closed from 2nd-6th March)
Where: Le Cabinet d'Amateur, 12 rue de la Forge Royale, Paris 11th arrondissement. Métro Faidherbe-Chaligny (line 8)
Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 2-7pm, Sundays 2-5pm, closed Mondays
I suppose it's free: yep it is


Bigger map here

The artist in his studio at squat/art collective Les Frigos