Dead Letter Playground: A Collection of Contemporary Street Art June 24 – July 18, 2010 Leo Kesting Gallery
Leo Kesting Gallery Presents: Dead Letter Playground: A Collection of Contemporary Street Art June 24 – July 18, 2010 Opening Night Reception: Thur, June 24 from 7-10pm 812 Washington St (at Gansevoort) NY, NY 10014 8th Ave A, C, E and L train Stop or 1, 2, 3 to 14th St Tue – Sat 11am - 7pm, Sun 1 – 6pm Admission is free to the public Phone: 917-650-3760 / 917-292-8865 http://www.leokesting.com Having left the gallery model for free form street installations, a narrative of artwork is grouped and reconstructed in a reverse white wall format late June at the Leo Kesting Gallery. The collection of prints, illustrations, paintings and installations takes its name Dead Letter Playground as a reference to the tactile paper quality of most works and the open letter format that street art has embraced as building dialog with the public. ”This collection adheres to the galleries principles of showcasing the most contemporary urban figurative works. These artists alter their surrounding environments, using public install as catalyst for positive reform,” states gallery co-director David Kesting. ”In contrast to dead letters not reaching their readers, these artworks embrace a playground of viewer’s eyes and an earnest public wanting more.” “Publicly placed works last only as long as the elements or the public allow,” explains John Leo gallery co-director, “Dead Letter Playground is an opportunity to see these works in an urban-gallery environment.” Dead letter Playground features the work of Carolyn A'Hearn, Chris Stain, Clown Soldier, Dain, DickChicken, Doze Green, Elbowtoe, Elle, Ellis G, Gaia, Head Hoods, Imminent Disaster, Jen.Lu, Jordan Seiler, Know Hope, Laura Meyers, Lee Trice, Love Me, Matt Siren, Mister Never, Nicola Verlato, Peru Ana Ana Peru, Phil Lumbang, Shark Toof, Sneed and Sweet Toof. Leo Kesting invites you to join us as we unveil Dead Letter Playground with an opening night reception for the artists on Thursday, June 24 from 7:00 – 10:00pm. The work will be on display until July 18. Leo Kesting Gallery launched in 2003 and developed an aggressive campaign to introduce new figurative artists to collectors and art supporters. Leo Kesting offers the art viewing public an opportunity to see forthcoming talents in an intimate setting where undiscovered, cutting-edge artists are presented to the contemporary art scene. Leo Kesting Gallery is located at 812 Washington Street at the corner of Gansevoort in Manhattan’s Meat Packing District. A, C, E or L train to 14th Street. Summer gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 11am until 7pm and Sunday 1-6pm, the gallery will be closed on Mondays until after the Labor Day weekend
Above) Chris Stain, Flowers, 24 x 24 inches, hand cut stencil, spray paint, japanese paper, on steel with wooden frame backing. Front Cover) Chris Stain, Last Stop Brooklyn, 16 x 23 inches, hand cut rubylithe screen print and spray paint on metal, 2010 Chris Stain: Artist Statement: In the summer of 1984 the art of graffiti writing spread throughout my Baltimore neighborhood like an epidemic. It captured the imagination of many pre-adolescent youth looking for ways to express themselves outside the norms of school and mundane playground sports. I was one of those kids who became infected by graffiti's bold color, striking form, and independent nature. As time went by I investigated other avenues of art such as printmaking and graphic design. In high school I learned how to screen print. Which in its foundation lies stenciling. For the past 11 years my medium of choice has been aerosol paint, an ex-acto knife, and dura-lar. My work is a direct reflection of the people, neighborhoods, and struggles, that are swept along with the life of the common individual. It is my hope that through the work I will be able to convey the importance of the role of the less recognized individual of society. Objective: To create work that inspires compassion and introspection within the heart of the viewer in hope to create social change one individual at a time.
Clown Soldier, Stretched Monarchy, 48 x 42 inches Clown Soldier is obsessed with the use of imagery to convey a sense of humor and view on the world that is political, sexual, aesthetic, or just plain absurd. He chooses imagery based on their line form and nostalgic quality and combines the seemingly disparate elements of idyllic childhood whimsy, superfluous everyday objects, Native-American mysticism, and modern industrial design to create a cohesive collection of iconic imagery.
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A) Dick Chicken, KH x DC, 24 x 36 inches, mixed media on paper, 2010 B) Dick Chicken, ChickenDick, 36 x 24 inches, mixed media on paper, 2010
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The Dickchicken was born unto a pack of wild bears. Made entirely of unicorn blood and clown tears, the bears accepted their freak child as one of their own. Being a vegetarian from a young age however, Dickchicken felt different from the bears who hunted and ate their carrion feasts... Ostracized and alone, Dickchicken spent her time drawing on scraps of paper and tree bark she found in the wilderness, honing her craft. Whiling away the days, weeks, months and years until she was old enough to move to the big city and find more of her ilk. After a long hard journey and many transformations, she decided that looking outside of herself was not the answer and turned her search inward. She decided to start to draw her own image over and over, again and again. Much to her chagrin her friends found delight and humor in her images. After very little thought or consideration, she decided to take her message to the public using what she had at hand (spray cans and markers). She boldly went where many had gone before. If she knew then how many people would want to fight and/or arrest her for her efforts...she probably would not have bothered. She has this to say about the graffiti culture, "For an expression that is supposedly 'breaking all
A) A) Mason Dickson 2008, Charcoal and acrylic paint mounted on reclaimed lumber on birch support, 44 1/2 x 29 inches B) Chalice Begonia, 2008, Charcoal and acrylic paint mounted on reclaimed lumber on birch support 46 x 35 inches
B) ELBOW-TOE is a Brooklyn, NY based artist that has been creating introspective urban art for several years. His artwork for the streets is grounded in myth, symbolism and poetry and is primarily executed in woodcut, stencil or large-scale charcoal drawings. His oeuvre is a study of human gesture as communication and he utilizes public spaces as stages for private moments. He is particularly interested in the ability of environmental forces outside his control to create a timeless quality to the work thereby allowing it to feel as if it has been memory and is part of the collective unconscious. ELBOW-TOE’s gallery work focuses on portraiture and abstract narrative and is primarily executed in collage. These intricate collages at first glance might be mistaken for paintings given that they have a fluidity rarely seen in collages. Whilst his work has a very unique style it draws on a rich history of figurative painting and has qualities reminiscent of Freud, Bacon and Soutine.
A) Gaia, Double Sterling, Gaia is a Brooklyn and Baltimore based street artist with a background in Printmaking and Sculpture. Marrying the animal and the human form, Gaia conjures mysterious figures that carry a heavy sense of mythology and recall a past when man and nature were once united. These romantic creatures stand in relief to the urban environment as they lurk and beckon in the city’s forgotten and neglected spaces. The conveyance of their story relies on the chance coincidence with a passerby, and even in that intimate moment, their narrative is precarious and delicate.
HeadHoods, Three Mouth Marilyn, 27 x 17 inches, HeadHoods is an idea that spawned from the brain of Clinton Van Gemert back in 2005. Shortly after graduating from Penn State University, Clinton, who is originally from outside of Pittsburgh made the voyage to New York City in hopes of putting his hard earned skills to use. He did just that and had the privilege of working under Seymour Chwast at Pushphin Studios for a couple years and then off to Mucca Design for a few years. It was while he worked at these jobs he came up with the idea of HeadHoods and was experimenting after work in his pseudo silkscreen lab back in his tiny apartment . After many cups of coffee and curse words, Clinton came up with a variety of HeadHoods that quickly grabbed the attention of the internet community. After a short while he realized that there was quite a bit of interest for his handmade hoods and had to choose between his full time job or his HeadHoods. The decision was simple. Since then, Clinton has quit his day job and has been working even harder at perfecting his HeadHoods . He now resides in a live work spot in the heart of Brooklyn New York making his HeadHoods and experimenting with music.
Shark Toof, Star Spangled Shark Toof, 25 x 19 inches,Hand Finished Serigraph on Reclaimed Wood. Shark Toof is best known for his iconic wheatpaste of a hand drawn shark head with "Toof" in the mouth. Wrapping up a huge solo show at De La Barracuda in Hollywood, his current work presents a mash up of human and political stories of adversity that reflects a personal journey of ourselves. His retro pulp, comic book like work depicts scenes of heroism, love and life, in the clutches of doom and recovery. His work can also be seen in a newly published book titled Street Art New York by Jaime Rojo and Steven P. Harrington.
Trice, Cowboys Love To Fuck, 24 x 19 inches I go by TRICE,I grew up in miami and and the florida keys. Being raised in the islands, I was surrounded by art and beauty. I then went on to graduate from flagler college in st augustine for fine arts. My next step was a two year extensive art director crash course at miami ad school. After graduating with honors I moved to amsterdam for 6 months and traveled all around europe where I was subjected to shit loads of great street art. I moved to new york and met anthony lister. This was a turning point in my life, since ive met faile, shepard fairey and many other insanely influential artists which has made me strive to make some great work.
Imminent Disaster, Persephone and Hades, 68 x 84 inches Imminent Disaster is an emerging Brooklyn based artist focusing on large scale installations on the street and in galleries. Her work is driven by the ephemerality and decay of modern urban life and the vestiges of human narrative visible and becoming invisible within it. Disaster’s most recent works build on the idea that the gradual loss of memory is an inevitable part of human mortality.
Sweet Toof, Sweet Toof Skull, 15 x 15 inches Of all the parts of our body, teeth, crammed into the mouth cave, are a constant reminder that we are merely flesh hanging out to dry on an elaborate chain of bone linkages. The pulpy ripped swollen scarlet and pink flesh that we call the gums, barely tolerate their border-line function as a visual testament to life and death. The mouth itself is in constant crisis. It is the place where stuttering words come forth, where words are taken back, where ‘sweet’ foods begin their rot. Francis Bacon understood that the mouth is at once entrance and exodus. When we scream we also breathe. In order to exhale we must inhale. For Sweet Toof this sway between horror and acceptance is an important part of his work. Sweet Toof’s painting starts with and evolves out of his street art; whether as a solo graffiti artist or in collaboration with the esteemed Burning Candy crew. Typical tags, throw-ups, and more elaborate pieces become a whole language which informs his studio works as it does his colleagues. Like the streets of 1980’s New York, London’s streets today are being reclaimed by an ever increasing army of street artists of which Sweet Toof is one of the most prolific and artful. Out there, under the swirl of lamplights, billboards and urban detritus, ‘bubble-Gums’ and pearly-Teeth’ push themselves up through the pavement cracks and concrete facades like anarchic plants refusing the flimsy, rootless, cheap order of modern life. If the sixteenth century Northern European tradition of painting Vanitas was there to remind us of the transience and the hopeless vanity of life, then Sweet Toof’s skulls and teeth continue that tradition but add in a more Mexican viewpoint where if one accepts death then one can also honour and celebrate it and use it as part of the life blood trip. Or in Sweet Toof’s words: ‘To get ones teeth into things, before it’s too late.’ -Olly Beck
Lincoln Capla 1969-2006
http://leokesting.com tel: 917-650-3760 or 917-292-8865