SAM FLORES

(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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NYCHOS

(Austria)

Nychos is a renowned Austrian Street Artist. One of the most prolific of the European scene. His style is characterized by pop surrealist and often has a sordid and critical content, particularly on media and society. He is a wonderful illustrator and he dissects and disembowels animals that fill his compositions to put them better into light.

He was born into an Austrian hunting family in South Africa and spent much of his childhood seeing things which many ‘normal’ people would consider cruel or even brutal. For Nychos though, it was a fascinating world. At seven he was bitten by a boar while he was playing in the forest close to home. Just a little while later he had boar meat for lunch. In another instance he saw a dead baby lamb being consumed by maggots the same color as its fur. Instead of being horrified, he was fascinated. He studied the hidden insides of animals and noticed the way life often grows from other life. At the same time he was also a child of the 80s, growing up watching cartoons and being influenced by their flashy bright colors.

Nychos has done collaborations with international giant urban art scene as Roa, Aryz, Satone, Zedz and Wany.

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