PAINTING

SAM FLORES

in ,

(1975, New Mexico, US)

Flores grew up immersed in the vastness of the Southwestern desert, spending his time as a youth skating, drawing and honing his graffiti skills (his moniker being Tiger).

He is uniquely noted for being an autodidact, or self taught artist, having no formal institutional training. Sam eventually landed in the Bay Area in the late 90's drawn to it's Bohemian lifestyle and also the promise it held for him to develop his career as a commercial artist. Ever since, Flores has enjoyed an incredible career, developing a passionate fan base while advancing his talent through an ever changing subject matter, often juxtaposed with that of his peer urban contemporary artists, namely because of the presence of themes rarely seen in such genres such as innocence, feminine, natural beauty and melancholy sentiments.

Flores' subject matter includes a myriad of anthropomorphic characters and beautiful goddesses with styles being inspired by Japanese Edo period influenced landscapes, urban contemporary/ graf inspired montages, pop-surrealist environments and his most recent works which are inspired by Mexican pulp comic art and classical portraiture.

Sam currently creative directs his brand Twelve Grain for Upper Playground, the "12" representing his original crew in Albuquerque and the "Grain" representing the role that nature has played in work and life.

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PAT THOMPSON

in ,

(Canada)

Patrick Thompson's installations of painting, wall drawings, printmaking and sculpture, are investigations of the idea of information; explored through mass media, architecture, history and the dynamics of culture, defined equally by their range and their lyrical visual language.

Highly esteemed for pushing the boundaries of street art, he has painted outdoors under the pseudonym Evoke throughout North and Central America, Europe, and Asia. Thompson is often placed into the "Canadian School" of street artists including Other, Labrona, and Thesis Sahib, a group known for their inspired improvisations and openness towards freeform mark making.

Thompson's own creative process develops through a self-coined process he refers to as "mistakism", whereby the artist allows a memory, feeling, sentence, or some other bite of information to spark the beginning of a particular work. Imagery follows, inspired by the 'in-between' places found throughout the Canadian landscape, converging into dreamlike scenes. This union creates a pictorial space where imaginary characters, forms and marks can interact in a place that is whimsical as well as charged.

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JOSHUA BLANK

in ,

During the turn of the century Joshua Blank was attending San Francisco Art Institute studying painting and film when he dropped out of school to move to Paris for six months to live in an abandoned building. When he returned to the US he began teaching himself photography and was reunited with Pez who he had met many years before in NYC. 

In 2004 Joshua moved back to New York City where his focus shifted to youth and street fashion photography. He also worked for Smack Mellon Gallery and began to do art handling for galleries and museums around New York and attended the Photography Program at Parsons the New School for Design where he received his BFA. During this time he continued to draw but kept his work private and would never show it to anyone. 

In late 2009, he moved back to San Francisco to photograph his friends and embark on new projects that seemed impossible in NYC. He has worked as a photo journalist and news writer in the Bronx and has shot assignments for Time Out New York, Toast Magazine, and has  contributed photos to several issues of Vice. He also worked as a product and party photographer. He has exhibited his work in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin and in Paris.

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D*FACE

in ,

(England)

D*Face is a London-based sculptor and stencil artist, who uses the city as his own personal gallery sticking, pasting and drawing on any wall or space available. Known for its subversive nature, his work challenges our expectations by overturning iconic imagery and introducing us to his own bizarre characters and creations.

Growing up in London, D*Face had a childhood interest in graffiti, and as a teenager was drawn to the street culture and imagery associated with skateboarding. Following a degree in Illustration and Design, D*Face went to work at creative agency, but was disillusioned with it and continued to pursue his own work on the side. Eventually his personal work eclipsed his paid work and he left his job to concentrate on his artistic ambitions.

His characters, such as "D*Dog" are vehicles for which the viewer questions their relationship with the work, it aims to encourage the public to not just see but to look at their surroundings. An associate of Banksy, he has shown works at the world famous Santa's Ghetto and recently had his own solo exhibition at the Stolen Space gallery in East London.

Watch this interview by Walrus TV: