Swiss artist
Rylsee (born Cyril Vouilloz; May 17, 1985) is a Swiss artist specialising in hand-drawn font and typography living in Berlin, Germany.
Self-described as being 'Left-handed and Too Shy To Rap', Rylsee is known for his witty wordplay and relatable designs. Some of his ongoing themes include; observations of his daily life, commenting on the digital world – especially regarding smartphone culture and his personal sense of humour. His numbered sketchbooks have received attention from fans and media (especially Instagram) since he began collating them in 2010.
Rylsee is a proclaimed hybrid-artist who expresses himself through a diverse range of mediums. He is also one of the original members and resident artists of the Berlin arts &amp; music venue, .
Background.
Cyril Vouilloz was born on May 17, 1985, in Veyrier (a village just outside of Geneva), Rylsee began drawing when he was a child as a cure for boredom. As a teenager, he was introduced to the skate and graffiti scene, which is where he began to develop his personal artistic style and obsession with letters. During this time, he regularly changed his street art name as a way to experiment with different letters and combinations before settling with his current artist pseudonym 'Rylsee'.
The name 'Rylsee' comes from the French verlan – a type of French slang that involves inverting syllables to turn the word back-to-front. (Cy-ril ; Ril-Cee = Rylsee).
After finishing high school in Geneva he completed his in Management and Sales at , Geneva (2001–2004). He then completed his CFC in graphic design at , Geneva (2005–2009). Whilst completing his tertiary studies, Rylsee worked at TranZport Snow &amp; Skate Shop in Geneva.
Artistic style.
Rylsee works in a range of different art forms including; Typography, hand-drawn lettering, illustration, murals, graffiti, sculpture, GIFs and graphic design.
Rylsee's artistic style is diverse but can be often identified by his unique visual manipulations, optical illusions and the inclusion of words and letters. He quotes "I like to encourage confusion, challenge people and make them question whether what they're looking at is real" – Rylsee, 2019.
Rylsee's work is 'idea-based' and usually subject to visual interpretation. He likes to create images that push people to question what they're looking at. A common theme he communicates is digital or mechanical problems translated in an analog way. An example of one of his optical illusions is his famous 'analog glitch' – a hand drawn glitch or variant form of manipulation that usually includes letters and words.
On a more simple note, Rylsee's designs aim to make people laugh. He quotes "If I can make myself laugh, then I'll do it. I like the idea of making others laugh – some people simply don't laugh enough" – Rylsee, 2019.
Coming from graffiti origins, Rylsee is known for working very fast when creating public art. A selection of his more notable murals include; 'I Wish You Were As Cute As Your Profile Picture' – Dead Chicken Alley, Berlin (2015), ‘Mural Germinar Futuro’ – Santiago (2021), 'Where The Sidewalk Ends' – Tel Aviv (2014). He has also been invited to various mural festivals including; Vision Arts Festival (2017), POW!WOW! DC (2018) and UPAINT Monaco (2023).
Career.
2010 - 2016.
Once completing his education in Geneva, Rylsee moved to Vancouver, where he was a resident artist at the Red Gate Arts Society – Cultural Wildlife Refuge (2010–2011). Here he worked as an artist, designer and curator and exhibited in multiple group shows as well as exhibiting a solo show titled 'Save Sneeril'.
In 2011, Rylsee (along with fellow Red Gate Arts Society members; Jamie Bizness, Kevin House, Jim Carrico and Paulo Costa) was invited to exhibit in a collective show titled " at Central Galeria De Arte Contemporanea in São Paulo.
His next move was in 2012 to his current city of residence, Berlin, (Germany). Rylsee was quickly adopted as a resident artist at arts &amp; music venue Urban Spree, sharing a studio with fellow artist Andrea Wan. "A resident artist at Urban Spree since the very beginning of the adventure, and through his countless contributions, Rylsee has become more than a friend: he is family" – Pascal Feucher, 2017 (Founder, Urban Spree).
In 2014 Rylsee completed an artist residency at the Zimmer Gallery in Tel Aviv. Here he debuted his famous 'Guess What' alphabet which has become a recurring project. Shortly after this, he was asked to bring the exhibition to Annecy, France to exhibit at the Art By Friends Gallery.
In collaboration with fellow Swiss artist Ben Thé, Rylsee created a fake 'épicerie' or corner store in which everything was created and made by them. This included false advertisements, packaging, products, television commercials and costumes. The installation was held at the Highlight Gallery in Geneva from November 2015 to February 2016.
2017 - 2020.
In 2017, Rylsee collaborated with Italian company Moleskine to publish a book titled 'How to Play with Letters' – a monograph on his career and unique artist style. Also during this year, Rylsee exhibited his largest solo show to date titled 'OTHER INBOX' at .
In September 2019, Rylsee showed a new exhibition titled 'GREY ZONE' at Bahama Yellow in Geneva. Based on his 2014 exhibition idea 'Guess What', the GREY ZONE exhibition housed 2 new alphabets - one series of ink drawings and another series of mix-media pieces. Other activities such as workshops and talks were also held during the time of the exhibition.
2021 - present.
To celebrate the entry of skateboarding into the Olympic Summer Games programme, Rylsee was commissioned by The Olympic Museum to design a limited-edition olympic skateboard. The project eventually evolved into Rylsee creating a ‘skateable sculpture’ titled ‘A New Chapter’ – the design aimed to “blur the lines between sport and art” - Rylsee, 2022. The sculpture was exhibited at the front of The Olympic Museum in June 2022, before being donated to the city of Lausanne in April 2023, where it has since been permanently installed at the Vidy Bowl skatepark near the IOC headquarters.
In 2023, Rylsee was entrusted with the creation of the official poster for the 58th Montreux Jazz Festival – an honor shared with other influential Swiss and international artists such as Keith Haring, Nikki de Saint Phalle, Andy Warhol, James Rizzi, David Bowie, Malika Favre, Zep, Julian Opie, Yoann Lemoine (Woodkid) and Jean Tingueli.
His poster design plays on the idea that Montreux Jazz Festival is a kind of ‘ephemeral city’–  capturing the wild night of festival-goers and their adventures, whether festive, romantic, comical, hallucinatory or subversive. In true Rylsee-style, the poster design houses many ‘easter eggs’, including dedications to his family and friends, and references to his style and previous work; including a reference to his own poster and a tribute to three other, iconic Montreux posters.
Some of his clients include; Caran d'Ache, Moleskine, International Olympic Committee, Nike, LinkedIn, Converse, HP, Opinel, Red Bull, KaDeWe, Native Instruments, , and Swiss rapper .
Rylsee x Caran d'Ache.
Since 2018, Rylsee has partnered with Swiss art &amp; writing materials manufacturer Caran d'Ache on a wide range of campaigns, exhibitions, products and classes.
In 2022, Rylsee was invited to design a multimedia installation titled ‘NEXT STOP’ in the Espace Créatif Caran d’Ache, located at Plateforme 10, Lausanne. The exhibition pushed spectators to explore their own perception of time through an acrylic kinetic sculpture.
Projects.
TOO SHY TO RAP.
The Too Shy To Rap design is arguably Rylsee's most popular and widespread design. Originally drawn for his 2013 solo exhibition in Geneva titled 'Bathroom Poetry', Rylsee kept this particular piece because he 'thought it was funny'. He proceeded to print the design as a sticker in replacement of a business card and without knowing or intention, the Too Shy To Rap sticker phenomenon began.
Regarding the design, he quotes "It turns out a lot of people can relate to it. The strength of the slogan became more and more apparent from people's reaction to the stickers" – Rylsee, 2017. Stickering and graffiti culture is often seen as brash and macho so Rylsee describes his sticker invasion as a 'primal male instinct' and a way of 'marking his territory'.
The Too Shy To Rap stickers have been spotted all over the world including: Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hong Kong, Chile, Israel, US, France, South Africa, Poland, England, Korea, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Spain, Canada, Brazil and Australia.
In 2015, Rylsee collaborated with Berlin streetwear label SNEEER to produce Too Shy To Rap merchandise and apparel.
SNEEER.
SNEEER was a streetwear project founded by Rylsee and his brother Yann Vouilloz in Berlin in 2016. SNEEER produced a range of unisex apparel, accessories and small goods, Rylsee's 'Too Shy To Rap' merchandise, as well as collaborating with other artists and musicians including; Catnapp (Monkeytown Records) and Furious Few.
The name 'SNEEER' is a nickname given to Rylsee during his time in Vancouver by friends who could not pronounce his first name (Cyril). It was also a reference to a character called 'Cyril Sneer' from the popular Canadian animated series The Racoons.
Matanga.
Matanga is a fusion cocktail and tapas restaurant in Friedrichshein, founded by Rylsee and his brother Yann Youilloz in 2019. It began as a snack-bar selling handmade empanadas in the beer garden of Berlin's art &amp; music venue, Urban Spree. Matanga can be found at food markets around Berlin and will extend to a second Berlin location in 2024.
Bibliography.
"How To Play With Letters" is the first published monograph by Rylsee. It is described by its publisher as a surprising, exciting and playful explanation of contemporary letter art and an ideal guide for anyone with an interest in cutting-edge art and design.
References.
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