WENDELL MCSHINE

(Trinidad and Tobago)

Wendell McShine's creates a series of antagonizing situations between the subject and the way in which the imagery seeks to interpret its ideas: animations that conflicts with their sketchbook counterparts. Canvases that are constructed within aspect fine art and then broken down by their illustrative treatment. small installation boxes that seems to be frozen in their melancholic dream state, only to be pulled out of their sadness through the use of intense color placement. Adding to what is a ceremonial dialogue of fantasy and reality as one engages.

Raw, transcendental and overly mystifying it is no surprise that International artist Wendell McShine (aka SHINE) is from the island of “the Carnival” Trinidad and Tobago. Currently based and producing work in Mexico City there’s a lucid cross pollination expressed through stunning iconography.

When one moves full heartedly into the doorway of Wendell’s work, a multi level narrative, which constructs upon itself is discovered. Bandidos, Jewel Stars, King Crows, Nahuales, Humming Birds, mezcal bottles, plantation houses, skulls, towering coconut trees, hibiscus flowers, rubber ‘slippers’, etc., coexist in a world of wooden panels, canvases, organic animations and paper mache masks.

Watch this video of his work:

SMITHE

(Mexico City)

Smithe has been making art since he was 12 years old. Born and raised in the streets of Mexico City, he got an appreciation for the street art around his neighborhood and it developed into a full time lifestyle / career. 

Art has opened doors for him and allowed him to travel to different countries and practice his passion. With art shows in England, Belgium and Germany, Smithe has already made quite a name for himself in the international street art and graffiti scene. His talents don’t stop with a spray can either, Smithe is a fantastic illustrator and sculptor and he plays in a band in D.F., “Punto Stendal”.

Watch this video of Smithe's battle for the big apple by All City Cavnvas:

SANER

(Mexico City)

Edgar “Saner” Flores is an urban artist, illustrator and graphic designer. Raised by his parents in Mexico City and surrounded by rich color and tradition, Saner developed an interest in drawing and Mexican muralism early on. He began expressing himself on paper and through graffiti art, later going on to earn a degree in graphic design from the Universidad Autónoma de México. His creations are influenced by Mexican custom and folklore, color, mysticism, masks and skulls. A mix of these lifelong interests and passions has led him to become the artist he is today.

Saner’s work has been featured in galleries in Mexico, the United States, London, Berlin and Barcelona. He has collaborated with Kidrobot, Vans, G-Shock, HQTR Canada, Pineda Covalin, Persigna Store, Bacardi, Adidas México, Televisa, and many others.

Watch Saner give a tour of Mexico City and talk about other muralists by MOCA:

RENE ALMANZA

(1979, Monterrey, NL, Mexico)

Rene Almanza graduated from the School of Visual Arts of the UANL (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León). He began working during his adolescence as a visual artist; first in graphic novels, underground fanzines, the newspapers of Monterey, and later in printed media mainly designing signs. In 2000 he joined the editorial or political cartoon department of the group Reforma (which included the newspapers El Norte of Monterrey, Reforma of Mexico City, The Mural of Guadalajara, and Palabra of Saltillo), illustrating various articles in these newspapers.

For two years he was in charge of illustrations in the cultural section of the newspaper El Norte, where he received 6 awards for his work from SND (Society for Newspaper Design) based in New York, which every year rewards the most outstanding international work in photography, design and editorial illustration. After three years with the group Reforma, he joined the “Shinseken” Editorial group of Tokyo, Japan, working in a project which collected folk tales from around the world to condense them into a collection of illustrated books, published in five languages. Once the project was completed he moved to Oaxaca.

He is a founding member of Galería Arte Cocodrilo (Crocodile Art Gallery), and the graphic arts studio Pata de Perro ( Dog’s leg), independent spaces dedicated to the diffusion of emergent visual arts in the Oaxaca area. Currently he is working with the publishing house Sirpus (Barcelona, Spain) in collaboration with linguists from the Colegio de México, illustrating a series of bilingual books on the history of the Zapotec communities of Oaxaca. His work can be found in numerous private collections in Mexico, the United States, Argentina, Chile, Canada, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Holland, Morocco, Australia, Japan, Bangladesh, China and Vietnam.

Watch this video: