FOREWORD Opera Gallery Dubai is delighted to announce the first solo show in the middle east of legendary artist SEEN. Often dubbed “the Godfather of graffiti”, SEEN (born Richard Mirando) took over the streets of New York in 1973 before moving to the studio in the late 1980s. Since then, he has been gracing the art world with amazing pieces, using stencil and spray paint on canvas, as well as his instantly recognizable free-hand graffiti work. The exhibition features SEEN’s newest series of superheroes, cartoon characters and Marvel comics all created especially for the occasion and reflecting the artist’s iconic style and light-hearted look at our world. Today, SEEN’s work can be viewed in museums, galleries and private collections all over the world, influencing new generations of audacious street and graffiti artists everywhere. In 2013, he also broke several auctions records, reinforcing the place of his art at the foremost position on the street art market. SEEN’s latest series of work reflects the Dubai state of mind, a vibrant city always on the move, driven by power players and superwomen alike.
Artist’s
Statement
I always loved cartoons and comic characters and of course superheroes. They’re just part of my childhood, as far as I remember, my mum used to put me in front of the television in the 60s, to keep me busy and quiet. My first favourite cartoons were all the Hanna-Barbera’s, where you could meet everybody from Top Cat, Scooby-Doo, George Jetson, The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, etc… I was already fascinated by all those characters as a kid and when I started drawing/painting, I naturally used them as my models… I must have done my first characters on a train when I was 12/13 years old. I remember one of my earliest characters that I did on a train was Hot Stuff (from Harvey Comics). I also remember doing a lot of Mickey Mouse back then… They were easy to draw for a kid, they were easy lines to copy. I did a lot of them through the years, Hulk on a wall, Smurf on a train, I still have a lot of photographs of those. Then, it just made sense that I put cartoon or comic characters on canvas too, as they always have been part of my artistic world. They were always part of my work, as far as I can remember. I’m just happy that I still can share them on canvas today and that people still enjoy to see them, as I guess part of their childhood too…
It is therefore with great pleasure and pride that we present the work of SEEN, and invite you, for a brief moment, to lose your imagination into an extraordinary world of the good, the bad, and the superhero. Gilles Dyan Founder and Chairman Opera Gallery Group
Sylvain Gaillard Manager Opera Gallery Dubai 3
ART
CRITIC
Monosyllabic, sharp and packing a punch…the name that artist Richard Mirando chose at the age of twelve – SEEN – sounds like an onomatopoeia taken right out of a comic book. And for good reason. Our artist grew up in front of the TV, which his mother used as a babysitter. She would sit her son down in front of it for hours, armed with paper and crayons. Tex Avery cartoons and the Adventures of the Pink Panther were part of SEEN’s daily fodder. Such is also the case when it comes to what the boy read: Marvel(1) told the fantastic adventures of the legendary superheroes, Mad Magazine(2) and Rat Fink(3) were part of what gave the artist the desire to draw. But even though Richard defines himself as a pure product of American Pop Culture, he is definitely no fan of the American Way of Life; the artist prefers lurking in the wings, painting trains and being, in his own words, a “real pirate”. Living in Las Vegas, the artist currently spends his time pampering a collection of customized bikes. The “Godfather of Graffiti” no longer wants to create what the public is waiting for. He continues to paint for pure pleasure, depicting subjects that make his childlike soul soar.
For this new exhibition, SEEN presents works on canvas that, much like his work on the New York Subways of the 70s and 80s, are (much) largerthan-life. At first glance, these new creations seem to contain less graffiti than in the past; it’s more or less there, depending on the piece, and often in the background. One could interpret this as a sign that the artist is ready to turn the proverbial page on his graffiti writer past, without totally disowning it. And he’s succeeded. So well, in fact, that since the early 2000s, SEEN’s production seems to have gone “back to the basics”: Hulk, Spider-Man, The Thing, Superman, Batman, etc. An authentic passion, as proved by the 2006 publication of the artist’s very own comic book Phoney Baloney, which tells the story of a group of knuckle-headed police pigs that are constantly getting into trouble. This underground publication immediately found an echo in the creation and production of collector figurines. The entire cast of his cartoon characters was reproduced for the immense pleasure of the artist’s fans.
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Contrary to what we could think, these comic book heroes are not the by-product of a cultural trend that started in 2000 and led to several remakes of the most famous superhero films. From Hulk to Superman and the Belgian blue Smurfs, these comic book characters have always been a part of the artist’s life. Clues of this were already contained in the frescoes splattered on the subway walls and trains of New York City. In 1983, the artist included the Pink Panther on the S in SEEN (part of an immense four-panel piece exhibited at the Stellweg-Seguy Gallery, NYC). SEEN has even had the pink feline tattooed on his back. The artist has since confessed that his very first work of art, dating back to 1977, was not a graffiti character as we could have imagined, but a subject inspired by the cover of an issue of Cracked, an American satirical publication representing Silvester P. Smythe, its mascot. SEEN is thought of as somewhat of a “Ghost Rider” in the Contemporary Art world. A graffiti baby, the artist has gone through various periods and circles without knowing or planning what the next day would bring. His motto remains unchanged: “I love to surprise myself every day”. NICOLAS CHENUS Collector and Founder of Graffiti Art magazine, Nicolas Chenus was the curator of SEEN’s first exhibition in France, Seen City, in 2007.
(1) Marvel is one of the major US comic book publishers. Among the world-famous characters gracing its products’ pages are Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Daredevil, Ghost Rider and many more. As for Superman, Batman, the Flash, Catwoman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern, they’re characters created under the DC Comics label. (2) Rat Fink is a character created by artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, one of the initiators of Kustom Kulture. He’s the totally depraved alter-ego of Disney’s famous rodent, a sort of Mickey Mouse on acid. After appearing on T-shirts and figurines, the character became an icon of American Pop Culture with its comic book namesake, Rat Fink Comix. (3) Mad is an American satirical magazine created in 1952 by publisher William Gaines and author Harvey Kurtzman. Catering to teen readers, this magazine charicaturizes American Pop Culture, poking fun at the ups and downs of everyday life.
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Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 150 cm - 86.6 x 59.1 in.
6
7
hulk, 2013 Spray paint on canvas I 200 x 280 cm - 78.7 x 110.2 in.
Wolverine
Post no Bills, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 170 cm - 86.6 x 66.9 in. 8
9
Watch Your Back
Iron man, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 220 cm - 86.6 x 86.6 in.
The Flash
Can Fly, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 220 cm - 86.6 x 86.6 in.
10
11
The Horns
of the Rhino, 2004
Spray paint on canvas I 162 x 130 cm - 63Â .8 x 51.2 in.
Get ready
Spider-man, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 220 cm - 86.6 x 86.6 in. Next page
hulk
ARRIVES, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 320 cm - 86.6 x 126 in. 12
13
14
15
Flying
Thor, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 150 cm - 86.6 x 59.1 in.
Wolverine
and the Thing, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 150 cm - 86.6 x 59.1 in. 16
17
hulk’s
attack, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 220 cm - 86.6 x 86.6 in. Next page
Watch Your Back
Iron man, 2014
Batman’s
Crew, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 320 cm - 86.6 x 126 in. Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 150 cm - 86.6 x 59.1 in. 18
19
20
21
Betty
Boop, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 150 cm - 86.6 x 59.1 in.
Popeye
the Sailor man, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 220 cm - 86.6 x 86.6 in.
22
23
Kissing
Pepe, 2013
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 115 x 110 cm - 45.3 x 43.3 in.
Next page
Popeye is Strong
to the Finish, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 320 cm - 86.6 x 126 in. 24
25
26
27
Popeye and
Bluto, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 170 cm - 86.6 x 66.9 in. 28
Marvin
the Martian, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 150 cm - 86.6 x 59.1 in. 29
Spinning
Taz, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 220 cm - 86.6 x 86.6 in.
What Do You
Think Bunny?, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 150 cm - 86.6 x 59.1 in.
Next page
Hit me Right
Here Popeye, 2014
Stencil and spray paint on canvas I 220 x 320 cm - 86.6 x 126 in. 30
31
32
33
Solo exhibitions
Y H P A R G BIO
sterdam, The Netherlands
lit Gallery, Am 1982, 1983, 1985 The Yaki Kornb New York, USA 198 3 Stellweg-Seguy Gallery, Japan 198 5 Suntory Company, Tokyo, rk, USA 199 5 Clayton Gallery, New Yo couver, Canada 20 01 Twenty-Four Gallery, Van The Netherlands 2003 STIP Gallery, Amsterdam, USA sco Gallery, San Francisco,
Stussy San Franci , UK 2005 Outside Institute, London an Prosper Gallery, Tokyo, Jap York, USA McCaig-Welles Gallery, New rk, Paris, France 2007 SEEN City, Make Your Ma ace Gallery, London, UK Sign of the Times, Stolen Sp nce 2009 Pop-Up Show, Lyon, Fra Sweden Pop-Up Show, Stockholm, nysz Gallery, Paris, France 20 10 Please Enjoy, Magda Da era Gallery, Paris, France 2 0 11 SEEN Retrospective, Op neva, Switzerland 20 13 SEEN, Opera Gallery, Ge Hong Kong Post no Bills, Opera Gallery, Gallery, Paris, France SEEN Superheroes, Opera ndon, UK 20 14 SEEN, Opera Gallery, Lo
Group exhibitions
Born in 1961 in the Bronx in New York, SEEN is 11 when he starts to customize cars with spray paint in his uncle’s garage. In the 70s, while painting whole cars in the New York subway, he finds his place in the history of art. At that time, the graffiti movement is booming and SEEN becomes one of its ultimate representatives. He picks the name “SEEN” that perfectly illustrates his desire to “be seen” and get renowned on the art scene. In the 80s, his work took on another dimension and he became internationally famous. In the 1981, he took a seat alongside Andy Warhol and Keith Haring in the exhibition “New York/New Wave” at P.S.1. in New York. Urban art, initially a subversive language in the public space, was about to become legitimate and regarded as a recognised form of art, sucessfully moving from the street to the walls of art galleries and museums. SEEN was at the forefront of this phenomenon. His artworks are nowadays included in prestigious and private collections across the world. 34
1 9 8 1 New York / New Wave, P.S.1., New York, USA 198 4 Graffiti, Louisiana Museum of Mod ern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark 1 9 9 1 Graffiti Art, Musée National des Mon uments Français, Paris, France 2007 That 70’s show, Power House Arena, New York, USA 2009 TAG, Grand Palais, Paris, France
Nés dans la rue, Fondation Cartier pou r l’art contemporain, Paris, France 201 0 Playboy Redux, Andy Warhol Mus eum, Pittsburgh, USA 2 0 11 Graffcity, Opera Gallery, Paris, Fran ce Pop Street, Opera Gallery, Hong Kon g Street Art Show, Opera Gallery, London , UK This is not Graffiti, Opera Gallery, Seoul, Korea 2 0 14 Poppy Graffiti, Opera Gallery, Seoul, Korea
All pictures: © Olivia de la Borie 35
INDEX FOREWORD
The Flash Can Fly, 2014
The Horns of the Rhino, 2004
Get ready Spider-man, 2014
P.2
P.11
P.12
P.13
Artist’s
Statement
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
ART CRITIC
SUPERMAN & SUPERGIRL, 2014
hulk ARRIVES, 2014
Wolverine and the Thing, 2014
Flying Thor, 2014
P.3
P.4 - 5
P.6 - 7
P.14 - 15
P.16
P.17
Wolverine Post no Bills, 2014
hulk, 2013
Watch Your Back Iron man, 2014
Watch Your Back Iron man, 2014
hulk’s attack, 2014
Batman’s Crew, 2014
P.8
P.9
P.10
P.18
P.19
P.20 - 21
INDEX
Popeye the Sailor man, 2014
Betty Boop, 2014
Kissing Pepe, 2013
Spinning Taz, 2014
What Do You Think Bunny?, 2014
Hit me Right Here Popeye, 2014
P.22
P.23
P.24 - 25
P.30
P.31
P.32 - 33
Popeye is Strong to the Finish, 2014
Popeye and Bluto, 2014
Marvin the Martian, 2014
BIOGRAPHY
P.26 - 27
P.28
P.29
P.34 - 35