Brooklynite Gallery
334 Malcolm X Blvd, 347-405-5976
Brooklyn Misc.
November 5 - November 26, 2011
Reception: Saturday, November 5, 6 - 9 PM
Web Site
Drawing inspiration from all things that make a city tick, Colombian artist STINKFISH turns faces of unsuspecting people into vibrant portraits full of energetic emotion. With work created on reclaimed surfaces such as vintage record covers, magazines and metal shelving, STINKFISH’s work cleverly mixes beauty and grit. Using a color palate that captures the flavor of the South American streets, this artist’s imagery does often originate from his own camera lens, but with all the time spent hitting the pavement, it’s no surprise discarded snap-shots are used at times to tell a story. Striking women, proud men or gaze-filled children are often the subjects before STINKFISH adds his signature touch—-an intricate tribal pattern to their features. Whether it be using stencil techniques or hand-drawing these patterns, Colombia’s premiere street artist’s images evoke a sense of cultural pride and celebration of the common person.
Canadian artist OTHER has been kicking around this scene long before the term ‘street artist’ was one. Beginning with his freight train paintings that often consist of chalk white, weathered-faced vagabonds, floating on top of colorfully patterned, twisting-limb figures, OTHER has always made it a point to immerse himself in the very same culture he depicts. Symbolic shapes, utensils, and typography in and around figures are the “sign language” he uses to communicate thoughts, ideas and dreams aloud. Curiosity often takes OTHER down the most windy roads, in the most remote places to seek out locations to work outdoors. These journeys often later feed into the back story of his paintings. Sometimes old signage, numbers, text bits and tags from other artists who’ve left their mark can become unplanned collaborations of sorts. Traveling and painting in places like northern Serbia, Chile and Romania with stories that seems to rival those of Hunter S. Thompson, no city or town is too far off the beaten path for this nomad artist.