LOGAN HICKS

Logan Hicks is a New York-based stencil artist whose work explores the dynamics of the urban environment. Originally a screenprinter, Logan's work has gained notoriety due to his ability to capture the sometimes mundane cycle of city life in a haunting, yet refined way with his hand-sprayed stencils.

Stenciling started as a substitution for screenprinting, but quickly morphed into Logan's medium of choice. A perfect union was conceived by spraypaintingstencils his subjects: the dirty and gritty nature of the spraypaint thoroughly depicted the decay of the city while the muted shine of metallic paint mirrored the faint glimmer of hope and life within it. It is this symbiotic relationship with the city that fuels his work.

With his photorealistic style, Logan draws a parallel between the cold, harsh city and a warm, vibrant organism. It is alive; a breathing creature where the ebb and flow of people washing over its sidewalks act as cells circulating through its veins. Buildings block passageways, walls block views, doors hide openings. The outside world is effectively shut out while the city creates its own reality. Confined spaces on subways, honeycomb living structures; it is a labyrinth of working systems limited only by its border, its 'skin'.

Logan uses his art to explore the microcosm in which he is a cell, just part of a whole. The nuances of city life that epitomize the urban existence are what he dwells upon.

Watch this video of Logan Hicks exploring the nautical in his latest stencil paintings:

HERA

(1981, Germany)

Since 2004 the German street art duo Hera and Akut form a fruitful partnership having worked together on various successful global art projects. Their art works can be found in big cities around the world – from Toronto to Kathmandu, from San Francisco to Melbourne. Their joint creative art process is dialogical, among themselves as well as towards the outside by embracing the public. It’s about storytelling, the creation of imaginary worlds and inspiring their figures with individual characters. Hera sets the characters’ form and proportions, whilst Akut paints the photorealistic elements. The further process is determined jointly by the two artists. 

Together they experiment with different formats, materials and methods. Their art works ‘natural home’ is the public space, where everyone can take a pause from the city buzz in front of one of their massive murals. Equally, their gallery pieces, installations and canvases are characterized by their narrative style and their ability to lead the viewer into the imagination of those two exceptional artists. There is a pictorial and textual component in their art pieces. The short quotes, passages or descriptions written next to the figures are references to the character’s life. As a central theme, their figures can be seen in the context of social fractions and collective constraints, but also embedded into fabulous quotes that tell us of love. Thus, the figures reflect the diversity of life.

Herakut’s paintings are sensuous, savage, and always remarkable for their powerful dualism. Akut’s photorealistic details play out against Hera’s expressive, more gestural, line-work in canvases that seem poised to articulate stories of triumph and hardship. Humor and text are weaved their way into the work effortlessly.

Watch this video: