Michel "Cren" Pietsch was born in Lehrte near Hanover in April 1970 to a French mother and a German father. Even as a child, he regularly spent time in France with his parents. In the early 80s, he had his first contact with hip-hop culture and graffiti there and shortly afterwards began to pick up a spray can himself. Since then, he has painted walls with his lettering in over 14 countries and three continents. For Cren, writing is the origin and the basis of his artistic work, which he stages on various image carriers. The artist now lives in Berlin and has worked in his studio in Berlin-Schöneweide since 2016.