Just as the Cold War was reaching yet another peak, the hard-working city of Mannheim decided to fight back in its own way and unleashed Pablo Fontagnier onto this cruel world in 1981.

From day one, going with the flow was never really his thing. Early signs of rebellion included riding the tram without a ticket, stealing wine gums from the local kiosk and scribbling his ever-changing names on walls. A textbook rebel, basically.

In the 1990s, Hombre discovered his passion for drawing and painting — a development that would soon take its toll not only on his school notebooks, but also on his mother’s nerves. Graffiti quickly became the perfect playground for him. Inspired by the comic-book heroes of his childhood, unhealthy amounts of inhaled spray paint, and graffiti icons such as Can2, Atom and Mode2, he gradually developed his own distinctive style.

After school, Hombre decided to stick with what he loved and shaped his professional career around it. Today, he can officially — and with a reasonably clear conscience — call himself a trained illustrator and graphic designer. He has been working independently since 2006, putting his skills to use for major names including Disney Germany, Casio, Pyromaniac Clothing, Eastpak, O2 and many others.

Free art, however, has always remained at the heart of what he does. His work has found its way into exhibitions in Shanghai, Pamplona, Berlin, Moscow, Jakarta and plenty of other places around the globe.

Hombre combines innovation with a stubborn loyalty to his roots, bringing his characters to life with mouse clicks and spray cans, clean shapes, hard edges and a classic play of light and shadow.

His inspiration is life itself: the people around him, music, movies, fashion — and the silverfish living under his bed.

His canvas is the world, from building façades and advertising screens to the canvas hanging in a kid’s bedroom.

Hombre brings light into the dark — and color into the grey.