Louis 'Masai' Michel

Louis Masai Michel was raised in Surrey, just southwest of London adjoining the River Thames, and grew up directly above his parents’ restaurant. His father, a chef, was himself an accomplished painter as well, and his creative philosophies and techniques remain a fundamental influence on Michel's own work: “He taught me how lines connect, and about the interrelations between colors,” he says.

After completing a fine art degree at Falmouth University in Cornwall, Louis relocated to London, where he honed his patchwork-quilt ethos across a series of striking, large-scale murals depicting rare and endangered species. In 2018, Louis curated ‘Missing,’ an installation at London’s Crypt Gallery (a genuine catacomb below St. Pancras Church); he’s also exhibited in Berlin, Paris and Los Angeles, and created murals throughout the U.K. as well as the States, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, Shanghai and Malawi. Louis currently lives in seaside Margate, and is at work on a fully-illustrated vegan cookbook.

Solo show at Vertical Gallery: "MEAT my Friends" May 1-22, 2021. CLICK HERE to view exhibition