Category Archives: Pictures
Logan Hicks at LACE
Acclaimed New York-based street and stencil art visionary LOGAN HICKS today announced Thin Veils And Heavy Anchors, a new solo showing of his work in Los Angeles, CA. Thin Veils And Heavy Anchors will debut at LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) on March 8, 2013 and run through March 10, 2013, and marks a triumphant return for an artist whose works have been shown in Auckland, Cape Town, Shanghai, Taipei, and just about everywhere in between.
Originally a professional screen printer, Hicks’ work has gained considerable global recognition for its exploration of the urban environment and its ability to capture the sometimes-mundane cycle of city life in a haunting, yet highly refined, manner using hand-sprayed stencils. His new body of work has evolved. The paintings have moved inside: from endless streets of colorful building facades up to six feet in scale to more intimate interior settings; from exterior cityscapes to the interiors of various buildings; and from distant lights to the direct gaze of figures who are in the process of walking away or climbing up stairs; shapes and curves of emotionless figures juxtaposed against the rigid linework of architecture bring attention to the contradictions of the city.
- via Wooster Collective
HENSE
An Atlanta native, Alex Brewer (better known as HENSE) has been working as a visual artist for almost two decades. His free-form paintings and public mural installations incorporate a combination of lines, shapes and organic forms. His work has been described and fluid and playful, and as an explosion of pastels.
HENSE launched his career in the 1990s painting walls and writing graffiti in and around Atlanta. By 1999, he had achieved what is known as “all city status,” because his work could be found in almost every neighborhood in Atlanta. In addition, HENSE has produced exterior works across the U.S, and abroad in Spain, France, Japan, Taiwan and Mexico.
As part of his continuing efforts to work amidst the urban landscape, HENSE has adopted a variety of innovative techniques, realizing art in public spaces by means of print-making, painting, and art installations.
Geometric Bang
Fat Heat
“I was born in Hungary in a small town. I first got hooked in 1998 when mysterious and colourful letters started to appear on a couple of walls just a few blocks away from my home. I instantly fell in love with the colors, the enormous shapes and the crazy energy that these paintings were emitting. My addiction stopped only once, for six months.
Then they put even stronger stuff in front of my eyes: whole train cars burning in paint, documentaries of a distant subculture from New York, crazy stories and the smell of a fresh and fascinating lifestyle – I just couldn’t resist. I became absolutely immersed from that point on, but I got lucky. I met a couple guys who were struggling with the same beautiful problem, we became true friends, and this is why we founded the Colored Effects crew in 2000.
Graffiti – let’s call it what it is – for me is a passionate but healthy competition, which requires deep concentration. That’s why I try to synchronize this dependency with a lifestyle that is more or less acceptable by the society that surrounds me.
I feel that through my addiction, all of the nights that I’ve spent awake because of it and the dangerous situations that I got out of safely, have helped to give me a really objective perspective on life. Despite the fact that I have given up on the illegal part of “writing” I will always keep those golden years as a great treasure, deep in my heart.
For the present and the future I just try to communicate this knowledge in the most honest way that is possible, whether I paint a small canvas, a huge mural, letters or a character.
My name is Fat Heat, I’m not even thinking of quitting anymore.“
Hanksy
Check out the work of New York City parody street artist Hanksy.
Also a mini documentary made by Keith Haskel, with some Hanksy street action.
Rico Blanco
“Artist Rico Blanco combines his two passions—painting and illustration—into these magnificent abstract-like pieces. The main focus of each painting, often building on a relationship between human and animal, creates a scene that evokes different meanings and narratives. Experiencing each piece is like trying to hold on to a brief flash of memory right before it disintegrates into the swell of colorful paint strokes.
The conflict between a sense of completion and the fragmented narrative is intentional. Blanco says, “The picture is built up in layers and I choose when and where to add detail and where to leave areas more sparse. I want to show the progression of the painting. Which leaves you with the challenge of when is the painting finished?” In my opinion, the paintings are fantastic!”
- via My Modern Met
