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21/5/2004

Royal elastics streetwise 3

theLAB 101 space, Santa Monica

New paintings by;
Michael Leon, Tony Llarson, Rob Abeyta, Rich Jacobs

Opening Reception : SAT. MAY 22 : 6- 9 PM

theLab 101 Space, in conjunction with Royal Elastics, presents Streetwise 3. Streetwise 3 is the third event organized by Freddi C, in an ongoing series dedicated to showcasing the works of Urban Influenced artists in a gallery environment.

The ROYAL ELASTICS STREETWISE concept began two years ago when its inaugural exhibition took place at a gallery on London's Portobello road - featuring 28 of the most cutting-edge, established; artists, commercial designers, illustrators and anonymous makers of streetwise scenes. Following the success of RE SW1, the bar was set to create a unique, but equally memorable, event experience for STREETWISE 2 the following year. For RE SW 2, nine internationally recognized 'urban artists' came together for a week to paint large murals in a historic gallery in the heart of Berlin. As they painted live, the public and press could watch their work develop. This encouraged an open platform for the artists and the onlookers to open a dialogue about this rapidly growing art movement.

This year ROYAL ELASTICS STREETWISE 3 - LA will feature five unique exhibitions. There will be 20 of the top American urban artists showcasing their art. Live DJs, and painting will accompany each exhibition. As the Urban Art movement is growing, RE SW3 continues to grow along with it. Each exhibition will be on display for one month. This will allow ample time for artists to develop ideas and expand creatively while reaching out to an ever-expanding audience.

theLab 101 aims to showcase the urban art that has evolved from a form of inner city expression to a massive global art movement. Rooted in the creative voice of inner city youths, this art forum has grown exponentially. The style has begun to seep into advertising campaigns of corporations. Artists who started as preteen graffiti artists now command the direction and 'feel' of multi-million dollar ad campaigns. Their creative sights have moved from the sides of subway cars, to the glossy pages of magazines and ad campaigns.

Artists who were the founders of this art forum have turned their talents into a viable living. Each decade, the visuals that defined the urban experience grow, develop and fracture. New forms such as wheat pasting, roller tags, acid etch tags, stencils, and outlaw sculptures continue to crop up.

Several RE SW3 artists use the same approach of wheat pasting their creations on the buildings and electrical boxes of the cityscape. For example, Becca and Kinsey have vastly different styles but both choose wheat pasting as a method of displaying posters throughout the public realm. This common method allows for the colorful, scratchy drawings of Becca's young girls to be at home on the streets next to the towering male figures that are depicted with razor sharp precision in Kinsey's work.

The graphic and bold figures within the works of Dalek, Rich Jacobs, Bigfoot, and WK Interact seem to loom out from the canvas with the presence of George Orwell's 1984 Big Brother. This central-figure approach hammers the character identity so successfully that the image becomes a brand as much as a work of art. It is this ingenious approach that merges style and image into a theme. In today's age of attention deficit disorder and the MTV 5-second sound byte, this style of art reflects the times and is successfully capturing the attention of humans immersed in a sensory overloaded society.

Today urban art has moved off the streets and sits at the doorstep of galleries worldwide. Together with Royal Elastics, theLab 101 is opening its doors and welcoming the artists that have ushered in this stylistic art movement.

theLAB 101 SPACE
1534 17th St. #101, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Tel. 310 453 5225

stampa

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