We are please to announce two very special guests and Fear No Art Veterans. In my eyes and those of many Greg Lamarche and Wombat are Boston legends when it comes to getting busy in the streets and gallery walls. Greg and Wombat were both originally in the first Fear No Art line up in Boston back in 2003. In fact it was Wombat who came to me so many years ago and asked me to co curate the first FNA show. This November 10th is your chance to be a part of this rich history and see for yourself what Fear No Art is all about. It's truly an honor to have Wombat and Greg Lamarche take part in this years event as our special guests. Im sure now that the cat is out of the bag many Bostonians will be rushing the doors to see what the hype is all about. Take a look below and see what these brothers have in store.
Right below are some recent works by Wombat, mix media on found wood.
Recent work by Greg Lamarche below. These pieces are hand cut paper on canvas/ panels.
I met this brother Kenji a few years back in Boston while I was living in Roxbury. It was amazing
discovering his work for the first time at Bodega. Hanging on the walls were some of the most
intense and technically well executed stencil paintings I had ever seen! Banksy could take some
pointers from Kenji Nakayama "Real Talk". With that being said please take a look at some of
this brothers work below and judge for yourself. I am a little bias because Kenji also happens to
be one of the most humble, talented, and easy going artist I've had the pleasure of working with.
Kenji Bio:
Kenji Nakayama was born in Tomokomai on the island of Hokkaido, Japan in 1979. A mechanical engineer by education, Kenji made a significant life change in 2004 with a move to Boston, Massachusetts to study traditional sign painting and to dedicate his time and energy to art-making. Kenji's diverse practice ranges from careful pinstriping and gilded lettering to hand-cut, multi-layered stencil paintings. Each intricately carved stencil painting is a unique manifestation of documenting and responding to the environment surrounding him, and often takes months to complete. His work serves as a personal diary of experience and influence, and his process can be described as a balance between meditation and highly-trained craftsmanship. Music, solitude, humor, motorcycles, and urban decay serve as direct sources of inspiration.
Kenji's work has been exhibited widely across the US and abroad in numerous solo and group exhibitions. He attended a mechanical institute from 1998-2002 in Tokyo, and studied traditional sign painting at Butera School of Arts 2004-2006 in Boston. Kenji also works as a footwear designer during the day. He currently lives and works in Boston.
Take a look at this rare footage of Kenji in action below.
Toofly’s journey into the world of art began with her commute to public school from her Corona, Queens neighborhood. Her trips were filled with adventurous sketches as she immersed herself in the myriad of graffiti tags, fill-ins, and outlines viewed on almost every deconstructive surface along the way. It was precisely the rebellious artistic spirit of the 90′s street graffiti movement that drove Toofly to join its subculture ranks.
Highly influenced by the calligraphy and illustration skills of some exceptional writers at the time, a teenage Toofly aspired to become the female version of what she most admired. She began to develop her own knack for “hand styles” and her unique Toofly characters. Her work soon blossomed on various graffiti black books, allowing her skills to be recognized by writers across the five boroughs.
By the time Toofly entered the School of Visual Arts (SVA), she had introduced her character to the walls of New York. At SVA, she applied her artistic skills to illustration and graphic design coursework. Finding inspiration in the New York urban landscape, this artist in the making began to juxtapose her “around the way girl” character against multi layered street imagery for various print and public street art projects.
Toofly’s constant and active role in the hip hop community allowed her to remain true to her roots, as she continued to draw raw feelings from the ever-changing and spontaneous public art world around her. Her most recent projects include her independent artist collection made up of art prints and fashion accessories. In 2007 Toofly co-founded a female urban arts collective entitled Younity which is steadily pushing forward with visual art exhibitions, and art programs for young women in the arts.
Toofly’s art and design work have appeared in various books, video, and magazines such as Graffiti Women, Burning New York, Current TV, MTV Tr3, Trace, YRB, Juxtapoz, and Marie Claire.
Here is some insight on the world of Toofly, peep the nice video below.
What can I say about Rob Gibbs aka PROBLAK. I can only tell you that he is a force to be reckoned with. He defines the meaning "Bad boys move in silence." Problak and I met several years ago in the streets of Boston and I have had the privilege of not only painting on the streets with this brother but also getting to see his growth from a prolific graff writer to a skillful well rounded artist. His latest body of work he coined "Small Change" deals with how we perceive value. The value of our time, life and the perception of women, how they can be treasured in one sense as a "Dime Piece" but then objectified by sayings like "A dime a dozen". I look forward to seeing what PROBLAK has in store for Fear No Art 4.
Here are words from the man himself about his latest body of work "SMALL CHANGE".
"The phrase, 'a little goes a long way', inspired this body of work. I think the average person can easily overlook how change can quickly accumulate. When change comes together, it's value and power matches it's weight in a variety of ways--especially in our consumer culture. This collection showcases some change I earned over time. I wanted to remix the value of what we accumulate and probably overlook everyday. Please enjoy the "EP" to my upcoming show. I hope you get to walk away with a small change in your point of view" Grow on flow on."--Problak
Time to feature more raw talent from the Fear No Art4 artists line up. It is my pleasure to introduce GIGI BIO! I met Gigi not to long ago but have been following her work for some time now. Gigi
has an incredible eye for capturing "The Moment" in her photographs, illustrations, collages she is
able to allow the viewer to lose themselves and discover there own visual journey. It's a journey filled
with eye candy, emotion, and a fresh perspective on life, love, graffiti, and anything else Gigi chooses
to take on.
Here are some words from Gigi:
My view of the world is a product of the past colliding with the present. I am inspired by the streets, architecture, graffiti, and life. I aim to expose the emotional side of the city streets pushing the final image to abstraction & juxtaposing a new view of the world. I use the organic nature of graffiti to drive the flow & mass layering in my work. I see the world like a writer's tag, full of life and organic movement. In my eyes, graffiti exists all around us in reflections, shadows and buildings. My work is a reflection of life in the streets. Each piece represents a world full of ambition, energy and movement. I aim to recreate the world through multiple perspectives captured in various time frames. I encourage the viewer how to fully experience the environment by creating a sense of extreme awareness of the world, to appreciate beauty in the mundane and find order in chaos. My artwork is greatly inspired by the world, but hidden between the layers is a narrative of life. Take time to peep this amazing collaboration with Gigi Bio and Melo-X
Here is just a taste of what you will see at Fear No Art 4!
Introducing two of the sixteen artists for Fear No Art 4! Don Rimx from N.Y and Augustine Kofie from L.A. These two brothers are heavy hitters in there own right, not only do they make amazing studio art but they both put in work on the streets. Take a look at some of there work below and peep the videos for both Don Rmix and Augustine Kofie. We look forward to featuring more artists so stay tuned!
David SepulvedaCruz a.k.a.Don Rimxwas born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico in 1981. David received his diploma from the Central High School of Visual Arts in Santurce, PR where he studied drawing, painting, etching, sculpture, and xylography and began his interest in urban art. Later, he continued studying at the University of Plastic Arts in Old San Juan, PR, where he specialized in drawing the human figure, portrait and figurative art. He also studied editorial illustration, xylography, engraving and graphic design. After finishing his studies, he dedicated himself to incorporating the various techniques of classic art into urban art, specializing in murals. He has also worked doing editorial illustrations for magazines, newspapers, children’s publications, book covers, etc. Don Rimx now reside in Brooklyn N.Y as a full time artist and keeps his creativity flowing through his murals, tattooing, and design. Make sure you check out the video below for an in depth interview with Don Rimx and closer look at his creative process.
When you first view Augustine Kofie’s artwork you immediately are struck with the skill and intensity of his technique. You can understand his love of process and structure. With strong interest in architecture, form and shape of typography, 1960’s iconography, contemporary music and street culture, Augustine constructs a dialogue in his work that is not always easily revealed. His collages and assemblages are layers upon layers of development. His work is as much unintentional mastery as it is intentional order. The imagery not only leaps out at you, but also draws you into his conversation.
Growing up in Los Angeles and very active in the West Los Angeles Graffiti scene since the mid 1990’s, Kofie’One, as he became to be known, is a skillful and well respected street artist. After viewing one of his paintings and assemblages you may begin to recognize his distinct style in one of his many murals scattered around Los Angeles. Drawing on his craft of lettering he has developed an abstraction that goes beyond the traditional 3 dimensions of our known world into a crafted world that builds on itself. Choices like his color pallet recall a vintage sensibility. He has the innate ability to combine appreciation of the past and his vision of a developed future.
Kofie’s mechanically detailed line-work, organically complex structures and heavy earth-tone palette develop into a multi-layered, architecturally inspired world that is a vintage futuristic realm not subject to gravity.
Augustine Kofie feature film by Montana exposes the man behind this geometric genius! A true urban draftsman.
Thanks to revolutionary big-wigs likeBanksy, Lee Quinones, and Swoon, Street Art is becoming more house-hold then forbidden fruit, more revered than reprimanded, and more accepted than door-slammed. But of course, even if your parents know who the Os Gemeos twins are, thanks to a rather grandiose public art-making exhibition this past August, that doesn’t make street art any more palatable or easily categorized. Indeed: the Street Art enigma has become ever-more abstract and hard to pin down: are these artists graphic designers or law-breakers? Are these people grocery-shopping regulars behind their elusive pseudonyms, or wild, shark-punching booze-hounds? And, most importantly: why are they all gathered in one room together?
Boston’s Fourth Wall Project will be the petri dish for FEAR NO ART 4, an exhibit showcasing the newest generation of street artists pulsating from both sides of the US including, but not limited to: the fantasmic master-mind behind tokidoki, the brazen SLICK of dissizit, the architecturally obscure Augustine Kofie, the vibrant hip-hop cavalier TooFly, Caleb Neelon (was here), and madman muralist Raul Gonzalez, just to name a few. All of these about-to-break-free-artists have been gathered by the enigmatic Marka27, a graphic design extraordinaire, creator of minigods, and a prolific artist in his own right, is undeniably the link chaining this unique collective together. Undoubtedly, this amalgamation of talent is sure to create some sort of combustion, and you’re officially invited to light the first match.
Join us for the opening of FEAR NO ART 4 at the Fourth Wall Project on November 10th and see what street freak flags will be flying on both US coasts to come.
Please visit fearnoart4.blogspot.com for weekly features on the artists for the upcoming Fear No Art
exhibit. We will have sneak peaks, behind the scene pics and videos, so stay tuned and check more from
