Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Artist Spotlight: Sozyone


Born in Brussels, influenced by his neighborhood, its stories and legends, Pablo (Sozyone) Gonzalez works his Art around the world of Villains. His first drawings decorate his pairs cells, and wins his first star in the field during winter '82 recopying an old belgian 100 franks banknote. Two days of work that will serve his brother, testing the forge by buying a pak of Luckies at the tobacco cornershop. Becomig forger was what he thought he could do, and decided, helped by his brother to study Art.

In '88 he studies at Saint-Lucas Art School and meets Smimooz Exel (with whom he creates De Puta Madre) both expelled, they'll attend the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts from '90 to '96. During that period, Pablo Gonzalez will have a great interest in Metropolitan Graffitis aesthetic vandalism, and becomes officially Sozyone, with his crew R.A.B, forgetting forgery and use of forgery. 7 albums, hundreds of graffitis, stages and jams mark the Time when Hip Hop was 'Fresh' and Untouchable.

In 1996 he creates with Gold Jaba, Prince Pro, Turs, Byz and Kool Recto, The UltraBoys International, asserting a new form of Graffiti. An aesthetic impregnated with Marvels, abstract futuristic mathematics, alphabetical contructivism, and facial Picassonic cubism, brutally refined. A sort of Pure Graffiti Vanguard, ignoring any other vision of graffiti, supposed useless.

Since 2004 Sozyone exposes his work, sought by certain purist and becomes Sozyone Gonzalez for his new public, which ables him to make Authenticity certificats for each one of his pieces, sculpted, engraved, painted or drawn, reminding him without a doubt his attraction for paper to handle delicately, gloves chalked.
























Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Artist Spotlight: Ginou Choueiri


New York resident Ginou Choueiri has created an installation of hundreds of potato heads that grow, decay, and die. Ginou chose potatoes because of their porous skin, varying shapes and sizes, and their flesh-like colour. The portraits are of friends, family, acquiantances, politicians, and pop stars.








Daily LOL - I Loaf You (Cyanide & Happiness)

Monday, January 11, 2010

Artist Spotlight: Dave Barnes


Canadian Dave Barnes' artistic approach involves the practice of transforming modern concept to reveal nostalgic mood, sometimes refered to as “Oldification”. Recycled elements (such as vintage newspapers and comics), faded colours, layered/collaged backgrounds, and sand~papered imagery all play a part in this process, along with the use of bold observational line and memory dissolved Rockwellian imagery. Often disregarding conventional rectangular canvases for manipulated wooden shapes to help emphasize theme and subject, he tries to use art as a translation of experience and observation that derives inspiration from environment and memory.