On April 6th 2018 , I had my first solo art show ” Perfect Timing” at the G-Shock Gallery in Soho. It was an absolute dream come true. 300 people showed up to the opening party, 1800 tequila sponsored the liquor , Dj B was on the 1s and 2s and we had a food truck !
The opening party was a huge success, the two floor store was at full capacity the entire night. There was a line out the door and for the few hours the party lasted I had Prince st and West Broadway on lock. G-Shock told me that this was the most people they had attend one of their events to this date.
I was fortunate enough to be invited by G-Shock to display my art in their gallery. They told me I have one month to create work to fill the space and I have the whole month of April to display my work. I created 160 pieces of art. This was my first show so I wanted to showcase different styles of my art but have one consistent theme of 3D artwork. The show was broken into 4 sections.
- The first part was to showcase my hand cut 3D wood pieces inspired by my graffiti background.
” Time is NOW “ 4 layer wood cut on a vintage frame 20 x 20 in (sold)
” WET PAINT” 4 Layer wood cut 13 x 42 in
This piece is to portray where I started and where I am now in my art. The black layer represents my free hand that reads ” FRIDGE ” thats how I would write my name on the streets with markers. The white layer on top of that also reads “FRIDGE” but in a evolved abstract wildstyle type which represents my current art form. I wanted to merge the two together to create a multi layered representation of my progression.
“RAGE” mixed media on vintage frame 48 x 60 in (sold)
This piece of art represents my RAGE, When I was younger I would always take out my frustration with breaking something or punching something, till one day I learned my lesson when I punched a metal bus stop pole and broke my hand. In this piece I wanted to recreate that feeling that I felt when I was angry. To make this piece authentic I attached sheet rock to the back of this frame and punched a hole through it several times till I achieved the effect that I wanted. I placed a mirror in the back of the hole to represent reflection, because in the past when I punched something it calmed me down and made me question my self on why the hell did I punch this in the first place and I realized I needed to chill out.
“NEWYORKNEWYORK” 3 layer wood cut and plexi glass 23 x 40 in
It was only right for me to create a NYC inspired piece for my show, since I have a deep passion for my city and also my gallery was in the city . With this 3 layered piece I wanted to represent my different forms of graffiti.
The yellow was done using a can of spray paint to represent the tags I would do on the streets. The turquoise represents the drippy marker tags and the red represents how I would write my letters using a straight letter style. This piece was made in March during the snow storm in NY so I wanted to capture that feeling with incorporating snow onto my piece. I placed the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridge on both sides because I have a great love for those two bridges. I get heavy inspiration from these bridges because not only are they architecturally beautiful and a amazing invention of mankind. To me they represent hard work , connection , ingenuity and most of all whenever I feel un inspired or down on my self I look at bridges and say ” If human beings are capable of creating this amazing thing with their hands, I also am capable of achieving anything I want. ”
“CANTSTOPTHEFLAME” 4 layer woodcut and plexi glass 15 x 37 in
This piece was inspired by my lady and when we took a trip upstate and stayed in this beautiful secluded cabin in the woods. There was a fire place and we burned massive amounts of wood, We were so fascinated with the smoldering red glowing embers of wood on fire that I wanted recreate that moment into art. With my fascination of the beauty and magic of fire, I wanted to create a piece that looked like it was on fire. I actually set this piece on fire to have that natural authentic burnt look as well as to capture the smell of burnt fire wood. I feel like majority of art is safe , so I wanted to give this piece a danger factor, I snaked a fuse around the piece that connected to 3 m80 fireworks. Potentially you can light the fuse and blow this art up.
“YOUARENOTALONE” 2 layer woodcut and plexi glass 26 x 38 in
No deep meaning to this piece really, I just had this idea to create this cool effect with plexi glass, wood and a uv light to represent extraterrestrials beaming up my art into the mother ship. Also I believe in Aliens.
“WHATSINYOURFRIDGE” spray paint and led on canvas 48 x 60 in
This piece represents when you come home at 4am from a night of partying and your kitchen is pitch black and you stagger to the Fridge to get a glass of water and food, as soon as you open the door you squint as the bright light blinds you. I like art to be interactive so I wanted the viewer to open the this Fridge to see what is inside. The art has a motion sensor attached to it so as soon as you open the door the light turns on. The art work inside represents whats going on in my head / what you would feel like coming home at 4 am from partying.
2. The second section of my show is a wall of 50 individual two layer 8 x 11 inch paintings. In this section of my show I wanted showcase to the viewer that I know how to paint. Each piece has a significant meaning.
3. For the Third part of my show, I wanted to show the viewer that I can create 2D art and make it look 3D.
“DOUBLECUP” spray paint of mdf board 24 x 36 in
“ENTWINE” Krink of mdf board 24 x 36 in
“HUSTLEHARDER” spray paint of mdf board 24 x 36 in (sold)
4. For the last part of my show, I wanted create mini Fridge toys. I made 100 pieces 6x3x3in out of hand cut pine wood. Each one is unique , different grains , different shades, 10 purple edition, 5 gold edition. Sold blind box style , you get what you get. Each toy was signed and numbered. (sold out)
I also had a sticker machine !
Here are some press recaps ! Shout out to 1800 tequila and the Vashtie team !
http://www.vashtie.com/featured/recap-fridges-perfect-timing-exhibition-presented-g-shock/
https://www.1800tequila.com/scene/fridges-perfect-timing-exhibition-presented-g-shock/
@ghsock_us / @gshocksohonyc / @1800tequila
photos by : @levidopeness
Thank you so much G-Shock / Casio for believing in me and giving a young artist a an opportunity of a life time.
A special shout out to James, Tyler, Brenden and everyone that was involved into making this gallery come to life this truly changed my life and I am forever grateful.
FRIDGE 