art

Usugrow completes new mural in Marrakech, Morocco

With support from Valeie Liais du Rocher of Studio IWA and Upper Playground, Usugrow made his mark on Morocco with a mural in Marrakech's historical spice square, Rahba Kedima. The painting features his signature hand style stretched across the facade of the renown Cafe Des Epices, evoking influences from Kanji (Japanese), Arabic and English calligraphy.

Photos by Ralph Liais for Upper Playground

Hush at Fifty24SF Gallery

"VEILED BEAUTY" Veiled Beauty is a solo exhibition by Hush, a graphic designer and illustrator from the U.K. Hush is an urban artist who worked in Hong Kong for a number of years as a graphic designer/illustrator before returning to the UK. His popularity is soaring, with sell out shows in London and Los Angeles, along with high profile street pieces, sold out print runs and collaborations. Influenced by various facets of modern culture, he is inspired by graphic-novels, animation, graphic-design, graffiti art, urban art and contemporary painting. He’s known for his portrayal of female Manga characters juxtaposed with his mixed media layering techniques utilizing screen print, spray paint and multi-levels of paper. The confluence of East meets West, destruction meets construction, and classic versus contemporary style, all leave the viewer feeling the same conflicts and energy that his work embodies.Hush has worked as a graphic designer, illustrator and art director in London, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Hong Kong where he worked for a few of the largest toy companies in the world. His work has been featured in numerous selected exhibitions in London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Edinburgh and Newcastle.


Che Jen & Kenji Kirata

"Reverberations" “Reverberations” is an exhibition featuring new works by Che Jen and Kenji Hirata, both members of the infamous “Barnstormers.”

Che Jen is a Brooklyn-based painter from South Korea, who was raised in Brooklyn.  Growing up in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side in the 1970s “defined the visual abstractions that are incorporated into my being and permeates my personality and my work.”  Her newest works are a reflection of her subconsciousness, a manifestation of the process in which ideas are born.  Che Jen has shown around the world in Milan, London, Tokyo and all over the United States, and has been featured in many publications.

Kenji Hirata is a New York-based painter from Nagasaki, Japan.  His works are influenced by the Buddhist idea that “emptiness is everything eternal.”  In his paintings, he fuses together the five natural elements of water, fire, metal, wood and soil, creating compositions that are dense, yet have open space.  Hirata is inspired by nature, and his vibrant pieces reference Jamaican dance hall sound systems, sci-fi futurism, billboards and hand painted signage of South East Asia.  From public murals, small canvases and animated works for film, Kenji Hirata is an innovative member of the contemporary art and film community.


Anthony Lister

“Magic Trick” Anthony Lister’s creations are described as brilliant, broken and abstracted figural works depicting the darker side of both heroes and villains. His fractured renderings place them as imperfect and exaggerated, post-post-modern opposites to how they were conceived – as symbols of modernist humanism. Lister’s work is a reflection and interpretation of the constant bombardment of media, and its relationship with the viewer. His mixed media technique of utilizing various types of paint, from spray paint to watercolor to acrylics, gives his work a depth that has made him one of the most sought-after contemporary artists today.

Lister has had solo and group exhibitions around the world and has received numerous awards including the Mosman Art Prize (2006), Prometheus Art Award (2005) and Metro 5 Award. He and his work have been featured in international publications including Arktip, Lino Magazine, Overspray Magazine, Oyster Magazine, The New York Times, among many others.


Just Say No

Ako Castuera, Charles Giaubitz, King Edmund, Lisel Ashlock, Luciano Durn, Mike Giant, Sam Flores, Satoshi Kamata & Zephyr