Upon the recent launch of the “Beyond the Streets” exhibition in New York City, which features more than 150 artists taking influence from and implementing graffiti and other street art forms, Zane Meyer of Chop ‘Em Down Films offers a star-studded peek into the launch. Among the featured artists are Shepard Fairey, Cleon Peterson, Felipe Pantone, Guerrilla Girls, Kenny Scharf, Timothy Curtis, and many, many others.
Portugal-born muralist Sergio Odeith is known for dazzling with his optical illusions created on walls across the world. He first emerged as a practitioner in the graffiti movement in the 1990s, before turning his interest to toying with how his subjects can subvert expectations from viewers.
Etnik’s latest mural is a swirling collection of hues and geometric shapes, towering above an Italian street as part of the Without Frontiers Project. Etnik emerged as a graffiti-slinging street artist in the vibrant early ’90s, before integrating all facets of his into a versatile practices of canvas, sculpture, installations, and massive mural work into a holistic approach. The Italian-Swedish artist’s real name is Alessandro Battisti, and he’s currently based in Turin, Italy. The artist last appeared on HiFructose.com here.
Hula is the moniker of artist Sean Yoro, who creates massive, delicate murals above waterways and alongside abandoned structures. The self-taught painter was raised in Oahu, where he engaged with the ocean as a surfer before embarking on a path in street art and tattooing. Today, he creates his massive figures in oil paint and creates pieces across the world.
Boy Kong, a painter and muralist who resides in both Orlando and New York City, combines both traditional painting and street art to make absorbing three-dimensional work. Pieces like “First Flower Tiger Pelt” use both affected textural elements with acrylics and oil and materials like horse hair and custom wood-cutting to create wholly new creatures. The artist’s murals and oil on panel works are more traditional in dimension, yet all carry a kinetic vibe in which the subject is reacting to the shape of the canvas.
Street artists Pichi & Avo bring a blend of surrealism and classic urban art to walls across the world. Within these works, a conversation occurs between what we know as modern street art and iconography and styles of centuries far gone. The Spanish duo, in particular, has been referencing classical mythology in a slew of recent murals that have appeared in Miami, Hawaii, and New York.